


Into the Labyrinth

by TheCowardSurvives



Category: Doctor Who, Labyrinth (1986)
Genre: A sort of crossover? but not really, David Bowie - Freeform, F/M, Labyrinth - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-24
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-16 20:00:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 36,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28962078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheCowardSurvives/pseuds/TheCowardSurvives
Summary: It's 2101 during the second great nostalgia wave at the Mars Colony and something weird is going on. The Doctor, Rose and Jack check it out only to get trapped inside a Labyrinth inspired life or death televised survival game. Who is the pig man, who let out the signal for help and can our trio solve the Labyrinth within 13 hours without losing their minds or their lives?
Relationships: Ninth Doctor/Rose Tyler
Comments: 1
Kudos: 3





	1. Things Aren't Always What They Seem

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this a few years ago just for fun and had no intentions of sharing this ridiculous idea with anyone but... it's 2021 who cares anymore? Let's have a good time!

Typical day. Or a not so typical day. Depending who you ask. For Rose Tyler, sitting inside a sentient space ship that also happened to go through time, it was a pretty typical day. For anyone else? The craziest day of their lives. 

Rose sat, legs swinging back and forth like a bored child, on the jump seat of the control room. Her eyes wandered around the large circular room as she popped her lips repetitively. Below her, just on the floor, was a tall man in a worn leather jacket hammering away at something beneath the main console. Rose hopped off the seat and began circling the console, she ran her hand along it gently. There was all manner of junk taped and glued in odd places. She poked her finger very lightly at a small toy soldier and made a ‘boop’ sound with her lips. She turned and leaned back on the console just by the man’s legs. 

“How long you going to be then, Doctor?” She asked clicking her tongue a few times as she stared at the ceiling of the otherworldly room. She heard The Doctor sigh from below. 

“Why don’t you see what Jack is up to, if you’re so bored.” A few pangs of a hammer followed his words. Rose pursed her lips and lowered herself to a crouch by The Doctor. 

“He’s having a nap.” She told him. The Doctor looked down his nose at her from his lying position. His blue eyes caused her to smile, her tongue poking out of her teeth. He couldn’t resist but to smile back. He pushed himself out from underneath the console and sat up to be at eye level with her. 

“Humans. Always needing a recharge.” Rose let out a little laugh but didn’t say anything. The Doctor glanced down at her smile for a fleeting second before looking back into her eyes. “Bored, are you?” He asked. Rose nodded. “Well, I can’t dance on the tables all day and night for you. You’ll have to re-learn how to be boring from time to time.” He leaned back down and went under the console again. 

“You dancing on tables?” She laughed. “I’d toss a quid or two at you.” That made The Doctor smile. Rose loved to see him smile, she also loved to watch him work, though she’d never admit that out loud. She knew he loved to have an audience, despite his mock annoyance, and giving his massive ego any sort of stroking was something Rose was usually very against. She liked to watch his brow furrow in concentration, or his mouth move from a frown to a smile when he figured something out, or his tongue peek out ever so slightly when something was a bit of an effort. Most of all, she loved to just stare at his eyes. 

From the moment they’d met, it was his eyes that stood out to her. They were a dazzling blue that often took her breath away when turned onto her. There was an indescribable quality to them, like they’d seen so much, and they reflected all of it. Sometimes she wondered if they could change colour. Shift into different shades of blue perhaps, but that was likely her imagination, or a trick of the light combined with the right jumper. She rested her head on her knees and sighed. 

“There.” The Doctor said at last. He pushed himself out quickly and gave Rose a quick ‘boop’ on the nose before jumping to his feet. “All finished!” Rose stood and pulled her shirt down to release the crinkles that had formed. 

“Great, where to then?” The Doctor looked up in a manner that suggested he was thinking. Recently they’d been on a wild goose chase to unlock Jack’s memories. He was trying to remember where they had left on that. His mind was so easily distracted. Then, as if on queue, a sound started emitting from the console. Sort of like a siren. “What is that?” Rose asked joining The Doctor as he leaned over the monitor. 

“The TARDIS has picked up some kind of distress signal…” He said. The alarm suddenly stopped. “And now it’s gone. As far as I can tell no one else is around to have responded to it already… that’s a bit mysterious.” He looked up at Rose and she grinned at him with that little pink tongue of hers poking out, as per usual. 

“Better go check it out then.” She said giving The Doctor a love tap with her fist in his shoulder. He grinned in response. “I’ll go wake Captain Jack while you find parking.” She pointed a finger commandingly at him as she walked backwards out of the room. She was giving him a teasing look, knowing full well that he hated when she called Jack a Captain. He shook his head and hunched over the controls. 

Something bothered him about this signal. He couldn’t put his finger on it yet, but he was preparing himself to be on guard. There was a chance that someone could be trying to lure in helpful travellers, but there was also a pretty good chance someone really needed them. That was a risk The Doctor was usually willing to take. He could never resist a good mystery. 

Only minutes later, Rose bounced back into the room, a groggy Jack on her tail. He pulled a jacket over his shoulders and ran both hands through his hair to try to straighten it out. He’d been napping for hours… he slept more than anyone he’d traveled with before, The Doctor noted. At first he’d been rather put off by Jack, threatened by his easy charm especially as it was directed at Rose. Not that he would ever admit it, but he liked to be impressive and Captain Jack with all his swagger really encroached on his turf in that regard. That said, once Jack had proven to be a loyal and ultimately very helpful companion The Doctor sort of got over his jealousy… for the most part anyway. 

“Sorry Jack, our hunt for your memories is going to take a little pause- that alright?” He looked briefly over his shoulder, but he didn’t actually care about the answer. Jack shrugged.

“If people need help, we should help. The mystery will still be there.” He crossed his arms and looked over The Doctor’s shoulder to figure out what the message was that they had been getting. It was a series of beeps. Morse code. “SOS.” Jack said. 

“Gold star.” The Doctor patted Jack on the back. Jack grinned, he was a good sport, he would take the compliment, no matter how condescending. 

“So where is it?” Rose asked. 

“Mars.” The Doctor stated. “The Mars Colony of 2101 to be exact.” 

“We colonize Mars?” Rose grinned. “Within a hundred years of my lifetime?”

“Yes.” The Doctor replied. “You see, you lot did some serious damage to the planet. So you packed up your things, moved to Mars, and tried to renovate the old world. It took a long time, but it was a success. They were back on Earth within another hundred years. Some people stayed behind on Earth- and some people would stay behind on Mars when it was time to go back.” He shrugged. The Doctor loved playing the teacher role. 

“Well, come on then- I can’t wait to see it!” Rose ran for the door. 

“Anything we should be on edge for?” Jack asked scanning The Doctor carefully. 

“Always be on edge.” The Doctor replied. “You never know.” Jack nodded in agreement, and they both followed Rose out into the bright light of Mars. 

————

It was sandy. 

Mars was very sandy. 

Rose kicked at the red sand with one of her trainers and the strong winds carried it away. She wasn’t sure what she had expected. She already knew Mars was covered in red sand. Maybe it was the let down of not seeing a thriving Earth community there in the dessert that disappointed her. The Doctor stepped closely to her side. They glanced at each other, then out over the sand dunes. 

“Where is everyone?” She asked looking up at him again. He continued to look at the dunes. He offered a shrug. 

“Consider this, rural Mars.” He looked down at her and gave her his usual daft grin. Rose nodded.

“Hey guys.” Jack called from around the TARDIS. “Get a look at this…” They leaned back to see him standing beside a sad looking tree. Most surprisingly however, was the ornate clock hanging from the tree. Rose looked up at The Doctor. 

“It’s like something out of a Dali painting.” She said. He tightened his lips. 

“Not soft enough.” Was all he said before advancing to where Jack was. Rose followed close behind. The Doctor examined the clock carefully. “Thirteen hours…” he said tapping on the glass at the number thirteen. 

“You think that’s crazy…” The Doctor looked up at Jack who was thrusting his thumb backwards. The Doctor look passed his shoulder and suddenly forgot all about the clock. 

The three stared awestruck at the scene before them. There, in the middle of the Marsian desert, stood a massive maze going as far as the eye could see. A great stone wall separated the maze from the rest of the dessert, then beyond that was an intricate stone maze with thick sturdy walls. Beyond that there was another wall, separating what appeared to be a hedge maze. Then a forest, then something else, and finally what appeared to be a massive castle. Only at that distance it looked very small. 

“What is that?” Rose asked. “Is that the colony?” The Doctor looked at her briefly before looking back at the magnificent scene. 

“Don’t think anyone would live in that… It’s a labyrinth.” He stated. “A maze.” He clarified just in case. 

“There’s something familiar about that word.” Rose tapped her chin thoughtfully. She was ignored. 

“I don’t remember there being a maze here before, Doctor.” Jack said as he eyed the place suspiciously. 

“Me neither.” The Doctor muttered, almost too quiet for anyone to hear. “Well!” The Doctor clapped his hands together. “The signal could be coming from that castle, or at the very least, maybe someone is home to ask about it. So,” He began climbing down the side of the dune. “We better get cracking!” Jack and Rose looked at each other in shock. 

“Go through that?!” Rose asked, grabbing The Doctor’s shoulder to stop him from further heading down the dune. He looked back in mock surprise. 

“Nothing to worry about, I’ll get us through in no time. One tap to the wall and the sonic screwdriver can get the layout and we’ll be set.” He beamed a happy grin. “and it might be a bit of fun.” He added as he trotted down the dune. Jack and Rose looked at each other. They both knew that The Doctor’s definition of fun, and their definition of fun, was not even in the same dictionary. Jack shrugged and they both headed down the hill after The Doctor. 

“How do we get in?” Rose asked as they all approached the massive outer wall. It was far bigger than it seemed from all the way back on the sand dune. Rose looked up at the small TARDIS parked silently next to the funny tree. 

“Must be a hidden door here somewhere.” The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and began scanning the walls carefully. “Hmm… not connected to the inner maze unfortunately…” Jack watched, but Rose caught something out of the corner of her eye that pulled her away. 

It seemed like there were bits of fluff floating along the light breeze of the desert. They called to Rose in a way she couldn’t understand. Under closer inspection, she realized that they were actually butterflies! No- not butterflies… fairies! She gasped and attempted to reach out to one. It was beautiful, a tiny silver haired child with soft sparkling wings. 

“Ow!” Rose cried. The two men turned swiftly to look at her. “It bit me!” She said angrily and then vengefully swatted a floating fluff ball right into the wall. The Doctor came closer and took a look at the injured fairy that had hit the wall and fallen to the ground. 

“This little thing?” The Doctor said jabbing it with his screwdriver. The fairy bared its teeth and snarled. The Doctor nodded. “I guess things aren’t what they seem around here.” He stood up and took Rose’s hand in his and looked it over with cool medical professionalism. “Be smarter next time.” He tossed her hand out of his own and turned back to the wall. Rose frowned and cast an offending tongue out at his back. Jack smirked but quickly hid it when The Doctor glanced his way. 

Rose looked around again as the men felt the walls. It seemed to her like there were more and more of those fluff balls appearing. The fairies were doubling in number. It set Rose at an unease and she stepped backwards towards the men. They were still moving along the wall. 

“Uh, guys?” They ignored her. “You think you could speed that process up a bit?” They still ignored her. The fairies were now triple their original number. Some were jutting forward and taking nips at Rose’s bare skin. “Ow, you little nippers!” She swatted another fairy to the ground, then another. “Doctor!” That time The Doctor looked over his shoulder. Rose was being swarmed by fairies. She swatted helplessly as they bit at her skin. He turned to face the wall and began moving much faster. 

“Run, Rose.” She didn’t need to be told twice. She turned on her heel and bolted. The Doctor kept his scanner going as his hand ran swiftly along the wall beside them. The fairies in hot pursuit. “Got it!” He grinned as his hand fell on a door that they could have easily walked by. The door began to open noisily- and painfully slowly. 

The Doctor backed up to watch as the magnificently large, and seemingly ancient, doors opened to reveal the inside of the labyrinth. He was too impressed to notice Rose being completely engulfed in fairies, and Jack doing his best to fend them off from her… failing and being bitten in the process. He waved his arms furiously, smacking as many fairies as he could. Rose let out a loud angry yell and it snapped The Doctor back to reality. 

“Come on!” He yelled stepping back to reach into the fairy hoard to pull Rose forward into the maze. Jack swung his arms in every direction as he followed. 

Once they were inside the doors seemed to snap shut. The three of them looked back with a little shock. Rose stood between the two men and gave them both a look of confusion. She clutched her chest as she panted. Then she irritatedly smacked The Doctor with the back of her hand. 

“Took long enough!” The Doctor just smiled. “I could have been eaten alive out there!” Then his smiled dropped as he examined her face. He brought a hand up and gently held Rose by the chin, turning her left and right as he inspected. Then he grabbed her bare arms and looked them over. Shockingly, there were no marks from the bites. He looked at Jack to confirm the same. “What are you doing?” Rose blushed and pulled her hands away and began to fix her own hair. 

“Those things were all over you… not a single mark.” He looked to the side as he concentrated on that concept and what it meant. 

“Yeah, turns out, fairies can’t actually kill you.” She grumbled. “Just cause severe irritation. Lucky for you.” The Doctor looked at her, studied her expression as he continued to think, and then dropped the thought all together and turned away to examine their setting. 

It was one, long, horrible, stone hallway. For miles and miles. In the one direction, there were branches and leaves scattered about, in the other, a clear path. A plant growing from the wall caught The Doctor’s attention, only it wasn’t a plant, it was some kind of creature. It looked like fuzzy tentacles with eyeballs on the end growing from the wall. Each eyeball blinked independently. They writhed about making quiet sounds of intrigue. Jack crinkled his nose in disgust. 

“What is that?” He asked. “I’ve never seen anything like that.” 

“That’s because it doesn’t exist.” The Doctor stated. He poked one of the eyes causing one of the tentacles to reel back in pain. It’s eye shutting tight. “Or at least, there’s no record of this species that I’m aware of in this area at this time… it’s simply… made up.” He turned away and looked down the long corridor at all the other strange tentacle creatures hanging off the wall. Rose stepped forward and examined the strange creature. 

“Seem familiar, actually.” She said gently touching the tentacles with her careful fingers. The Doctor turned to stare at her. “Like something from my childhood… a dream maybe…” she trailed off in a dreamy voice. “Maybe I saw it in a book… or a movie…” She pulled her hand away, evidently broken of the spell that had captivated her. The Doctor looked down at the ground as he processed all the information. He was starting to put something together in his brain, but he wasn’t saying anything out loud to the others. His conclusions only half formed. 

“Let’s go this way.” The Doctor pointed down the more overgrown path, with the twigs and logs they would have to step over. He held up his sonic screwdriver and held it towards the wall, then brought his arm down low to the floor. Rose and Jack exchanged glances, but remained quiet. The Doctor was working it all out, they didn’t want to interrupt that brain train. Suddenly, The Doctor started running. Jack and Rose silently picked up into a jog as well. Then he stopped. They exchanged looks again. The Doctor held his screwdriver in the air, down at the ground, wall to wall again… “Doesn’t make sense…” He muttered quietly to himself. 

“Doctor I-“ Rose began but was cut off.

“Ah!” The Doctor said in a satisfied tone. “A local.” He leaned down low to the ground. 

“‘Ello!” A tiny voice called. Rose stepped forward and leaned into The Doctor. He glanced at her briefly and smiled. In front of him was a fuzzy, adorable little worm… in a tiny scarf! 

“Did you just say hello?” Rose asked, blinking wide eyes. 

“No, I said ‘ELLO, but that’s close enough.” The worm nodded jokingly. The Doctor gave a silent chuckle and looked at Rose.

“Are you having a laugh?” She asked crossing her arms and feeling rather mocked. 

“Naw, I’m just a worm.” It said in an accent that mimicked her own.

“Oh, you two will be a pair then.” Rose rolled her eyes and stood up straight. She took a step back to stand next to Jack. 

“Would you like a cup of tea?” The worm asked. “My missus makes a mean cuppa.” 

“I’m afraid we’re short on time.” The Doctor smiled. Clearly so amused by this tiny creature. “I do want to ask you though, what’s going on with these walls? I can’t get a clear reading on anything. It’s almost like they aren’t really there… but they are there…” The worm laughed and shook his head. 

“Things ‘round here aren’t always what they seem. Can’t take anything for granted.” He told them. “It’s hard to see, but there are openings all along these walls. You try walking through them, you’ll see what I mean.” The Doctor nodded in understanding. 

“Thank you, very much.” 

“You sure I can’t interest you in a cup of tea?” 

“Naw, thanks all the same.” The Doctor stood up and walked towards the opposite wall. He raised his hand to hover just over it, then pushed his hand through. He laughed with glee. “Come on then!” He gestured to Jack and Rose before disappearing into the wall. They followed without question. 

Once through, it was very much the same. Only now it seemed like they could see the openings clearer. Maybe that was a test to throw people off at the start. The Doctor began scanning everything with his sonic screwdriver again. He’d move a few steps, wave it around, and stop. Rose was beginning to think this would be a lot more of a task than he had sold it. 

“Doctor, maybe we should split up. You know, to cover my ground.” Rose offered with a shrug. Jack nodded but didn’t say anything. The Doctor looked up at her from his crouched position on the ground. 

“No.” He said quickly. “I think that would be a bad idea… something isn’t right here. We should stick together.” He looked back down and quirked his mouth to the side thoughtfully. “I can’t put my finger on it yet, but it seems the walls are moving around. I can’t get a definite reading.” He stood up and took a few steps toward them. “The walls, the floors, it’s almost like they aren’t really here… and yet we can touch them sometimes, and other times we can’t.” He illustrated his point by touching the space they had just walked through, it had become completely solid. He turned around and began walking, Jack followed with Rose closely behind. “I think it’s best that we stay vigilant, and close together.”

“WUH!” 

Rose suddenly slipped through an apparent hole in the floor. So fast that it almost went completely unnoticed. The Doctor froze. Jack halted behind him.

‘What?” He asked, leaning towards The Doctor’s shoulder. 

“Rose just fell into the floor, didn’t she?” The Doctor asked flatly without turning around. Jack whipped around quickly to look at Rose, but she was gone. His eyes dropped to the floor. It was solid stone. He backed up towards The Doctor in shock. 

“Doctor! She’s gone.” The Doctor tightened his lips and closed his eyes in a sort of annoyed grin and nodded his head. Then he turned around to face Jack. 

“Yes I gathered.” He said now looking at the same spot on the floor Jack had been looking at. He crouched down and touched the spot with his hand. It was solid. He brought a single hadn’t to rub his eyes as he let out a sigh, and then he jumped to his feet. “Right.” He said loudly. “I know you’re watching. I demand some kind of explanation here. We missed the opening screen so you’ll have to catch us up!” He took a step closer to the wall and leaned into the eyeballs that stared wide at him from the wall. “I will not take another step, until I talk to the person in charge.” He said in a low threatening tone. The eyeball creatures trembled. 

“Doctor, what are you-?” Jack began. 

Suddenly, the wind picked up. Glitter swirled everywhere around them causing both men to shield their eyes from it. A large white barn owl swooped down into the small space and flapped it’s great wings at them. The Doctor took a step back. The owl folded its wings together in front of it and suddenly, started to transform into a great black shape. A shape like two large black curtains. The curtains pulled back, revealed to be just a massive cape hiding the face of a very striking, and very glittery, man. 

“Wait- is that-?!” Jack gaped and pointed a finger up at the smirking man that towered before them. He brought his hands onto his hips in a power stance meant to both intimidate and seduce them. The Doctor rolled his eyes in irritation. 

“Nope, sorry, try again.” He yelled. “Bowie died in 2016. I want a REAL person.”

“Oh, you’re clever.” The apparent David Bowie imposter smiled charmingly. He pulled his cape closed and twirled around swiftly, several times. When he opened his cape again he was about the third of his previous height. The wig and the costume remained the same, but instead of Bowie’s face, a horrible pigs face stared back at them. 

“Ugh!” Jack stepped back. “Naw, bring Bowie back.” Jack quipped but The Doctor ignored him. The pig man laughed in a horrible pig like squeal. He spun around flamboyantly and struck a pose. 

“Surprise, it’s just little old me.” He said in what had to be the most obnoxious voice on any planet. When he got no verbal response he tossed out a hand full of glitter onto the two men. 

“What have you done with Rose?” The Doctor was unfazed by the glitter and just stared angrily with a look some referred to as the oncoming storm. The pig rolled around in the air and leaned back far enough to look at The Doctor upside down. 

“She’s safe.” The pig man stated. “For now.” He giggled and it made The Doctor tense. “It wouldn’t be any fun if you all got to travel together!” He attempted to pout with his hideous pig face. 

“What is this place? Who are you and what do you want from us?” Now Jack was getting irritated, he took a harsh step forward but The Doctor raised an arm to stop him from approaching the pig man. 

“It’s a game.” The Doctor answered much to Jack’s surprise. “Solve the maze, win the game. They get to watch for entertainment.” Jack just stared at him. “2101, the Mars colony hasn’t been here for very long. In fact, most of them remember what it was like to live on the Earth. Lifespans,” The Doctor looked at Jack. “-as you know, extended with technology advances. Some of these people have been around a while, they remember what the things were like. Being here on Mars has caused a nation wide depression.” He looked back up at the pig man. “He’s taken a page right from ancient Rome. Little sport, little death, distracts people from their own pathetic lives… Well, the rich and powerful people anyway.” The pig man clapped his human hands together happily. 

“Well done, Doctor!” He said with glee. “Yes, it’s true. The colony is riddled with poor unfortunate souls, homesick for their blue skies and green grass- only there isn’t any left to see. That is, after all, why we’re here.” He gestured all around him. “When people start to miss the way things ‘used to be’, it can turn into something very profitable.” He gave them a suggestive look and wiggled his eyebrows. 

“The Second Great Nostalgia Wave.” The Doctor stated as if pulling up an old dusty memory file in his vast tomb of mental filing cabinets. 

“Nostalgia Wave?” Jack asked, causing The Doctor to turn to him suddenly. 

“The first Nostalgia wave kicked up roughly around the year 2010, the combination of technology having progressed a lot in a short amount of time mixed with a rapid decline in quality of life left humans longing for a simpler time, or in a lot of cases, their childhoods. A trend kicked off, spurring various movie remakes, shows brought back to television, clothing came back into fashion… it had become so powerful a feeling that it swayed major elections.” He looked back towards the pig man again. “I can easily see how a second wave would be triggered by the move to Mars.”

“So then… I guess that explains the Bowie hologram… but, why here?” Jack asked suddenly. The pig man flipped in mid air and clapped his hands together in glee. 

“You are unfamiliar!” The pig man squealed in delight. “We’ve never had outsiders do the run before! Let me give you the history!” The pig man held his arms to the side, hands closed together. As he drew them apart, a television screen appeared. It began to play clips from an old movie, one starring the aforementioned, Bowie. “Long ago, in the year 1986, a glorious film was created about a brave girl trying to save her baby brother.” The screen showed clips of the young girl working her way through the maze, and the baby she was trying to save. “With nostalgia being such a hot trend, I chose to bring the beloved cult classic to life and let people enjoy the magic all over again!” 

“I get it. We solve the labyrinth just as she did for entertainment. So… we’re looking for a baby?” Jack asked. The pig man clapped his hands together sharply. The screen was gone. 

“No, you walking shop dummy.” Jack and The Doctor exchanged looks. “It’s the WORLD of the movie, it would be pretty stupid to have someone try to save a baby every season.” He cleared his throat and spun around swiftly, throwing glitter everywhere. “Like the beloved movie, you are expected to solve the Labyrinth in thirteen hours. The difference is that there are several of you starting at different locations, and if you don’t make it to the end when the time runs out, you die.” He grinned and clapped his hands together again. “It’s like Survivor meets Hunger Games meets fantasy glam rock David Bowie.”

“What, we just die?” Jack asked angrily. 

“It’s good crowd control.” The pig man shrugged. “You could also die before then. There is a lot that could happen in these walls… the fairies are just a sort of prep course, I assure you, the other dangers here are very real.” He looked side to side with wide eyes, then giggled. The Doctor rolled his eyes.

“I’m done with this now.” He grumbled as he pulled out his sonic screwdriver. “It’s a simulation to a degree, if I distrust the signal it ends and we can get out of here.” The pig man raised his hands to his cheeks in mock shock.

“Ah, ah, ah!” He wagged a finger at The Doctor. “No cheating! All devices will be shut off during the game.” The Doctor raised his hand sharply to inspect the screwdriver. The light was out, it was unresponsive. How was that possible? “Looks like you’ll just have to solve the labyrinth.”

“Having fun yet, Doctor?” Jack mumbled sarcastically. “Couldn’t just take the TARDIS to the centre…” 

“I’m glad we didn’t. Last thing I want is whoever’s running this show to get their hands on her.” The Doctor pointed out. “We’re in it now. No choice.”

“This is sick!” Jack spat. The pig man eyed him carefully. “And how is Rose supposed to know she has to solve the Labyrinth in thirteen hours or she dies?? We had to yell at you to show yourself! How will she know?”

“Oh, well, you were impatient.” The pig man tutted them and crossed his arms. “She will get the standard game introduction. She will know what to do.” 

“Listen, you little porker!” Jack shouted stepping forward beyond The Doctors arm. “What you’re doing here is wrong, and needs to stop! You can’t just make people- WAH!!” The floor opened up and Jack dropped through it, right before The Doctor’s eyes. He jumped forward but the floor sealed up again, just as quick as it appeared. 

“Oh dear.” The pig man sighed. “Now I know that was rude, but it is time for the game to start.” The Doctor gritted his teeth. A clock appeared next to the pig man, the same one that had hung from the tree. “Thirteen hours starts now, good luck… Doctor.” And with that, the pig man faded into nothing. The Doctor glanced at the nearby tentacled wall creatures that eyed him, clearly broadcasting out to anyone who was tuning in. He gave a dark look of determination as he straightened his Jack and clenched his jaw.

“You want entertainment? Stay tuned.”


	2. Which Way Do You Want to Go?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Come on feet! Our trio has resigned to solve the labyrinth, regardless of being separated. There seems to be more here than meets the eye though...

Rose hit the ground with a heavy thud. Wherever she was, it was dark and gloomy and completely underground. There was little to no light, and the overall feeling was… damp. She rubbed her bruised rear and attempted to stand with as much grace as she could muster. She reached her hands up to the ceiling, but the hole that she had fallen through had clearly gone. A sigh passed through her lips. Typical. 

Unlike the stone maze above, this underground version was like an ant hill. She wandered around aimlessly for what seemed like an eternity. Truly, it had only been a few minutes. There were corners and openings and offshoots everywhere. So much so that a low grade panic began to bubble inside her. Rose leaned against a wall to regain her composure. Next to her the little eyeball creatures watched with vague curiosity. She frowned at them. Then she pulled herself off the wall and marched forward in defiance. 

“Stop!” A voice bellowed causing Rose to jump out of her skin. “This is not the waaaaay!” The voice continued. Rose looked about, but the only thing she could see was a rock wall. She squinted her eyes and blinked a few times. The wall looked like a face! It was the face that was talking! 

“h-hello?” She said stepping closer.

“This is not the way!” It repeated. She frowned.

“Then what is the way?” The face repeated its previous line and it became clear to Rose that he was either not sentient or not helpful. She walked past it.

“Take heed!” Another loud voice boomed causing her to jump again. “-and go no further!” She looked at the new face that spoke. It looked different than the last.

“Right, that’s quite enough of that now.” She said pointedly. Then she tapped her chin thoughtfully. “Now if I wanted to stop someone from going the RIGHT way, I might be inclined to set a bunch of false alarms to scare them off.” She snapped her fingers and laughed. “Go on then! Go on, what was it then? Take heed??” She cackled and took a few steps forward into what appeared to be a long dark tunnel. Very different from the cave like walls she had just seen. “Just as I thought.” She beamed, assuming this meant she was on the right track. “Piece of cake, this place.” 

“Oh, you think?” A smooth voice caused her to turn quickly. Rose jumped out of her skin for a third time- the shock of who stood in front of her nearly sent her to an early death.

“It’s… it’s you! My God…” She said shakily. “David Bowie lives forever… He’s immortal…” She whispered to herself, completely starstruck. Then she studied this Bowie’s face with a little more scrutiny. “No, hang on-” She said louder this time, her brows furrowing. “I saw Bowie in Camden Town last year and he looked older than this- and that was 2004.” The fake Bowie just smiled. “Who are you then?” 

“The Goblin King.” He raised his arms in presentation. 

“and who is he, when he’s at home?” Rose smirked. “Is that supposed to be impressive?” Rose asked, placing her hands firmly on her hips. The fake Bowie’s face twitched- almost as if it had been a glitch on a computer screen.

“You have th-thirteen hours in which to solve the Labyrinth-“ it glitched again, Rose raised her eyebrows.

“A robot?” She whispered to herself. 

“Or you will face certain and immediate d-death.” Rose blinked and shook her head swiftly as if doing a double take.

“Sorry, what was that?” She crossed her arms. “Listen here, Not-Bowie, I’m not playing around now. Where is The Doctor? I’m not solving your stupid maze!” The goblin king looked, unblinkingly. He glitched again, but this time visually. Rose tightened her lips, not a robot, perhaps a hologram? He fizzled a little before completely going out and coming back renewed- more lifelike than before. His face seemed to reflect more humanity now, smirking down at her.

“You have no choice.” He said. “You’ll die all the same so you might as well try to solve it.” 

“What happens when I do?” Rose asked. “Is there a prize or something?”

“Yes.” He smiled. “You get to live.”

“Oh, cheers.” Rose grumbled. 

“Solve the labyrinth before the final strike of the thirteenth hour or remain forever in its walls as a corpse. It’s your choice.” He pulled out a crystal ball from behind his back and presented it to her. “So, you say my labyrinth is a piece of cake, do you?” He grinned wickedly. It almost made Rose forget he wasn’t real again. “Let’s see how you deal with this little slice!” He tossed the crystal ball down the dark corridor. Rose followed it with her eyes and frowned as an overwhelming feeling of dejavut swept over her. “The first challenge has begun.” She turned to look at him again but he was gone. She spun around to be sure. Just her. She looked down the long black corridor again, and this time something caught her eye. Something glimmering in the light.

Rose took a step forward and squinted her eyes. It was hard to make out. Then suddenly she could hear a strange sound. Like the sound of sharp metal clanging together. It must have been coming from whatever was approaching. She took a few careful steps back. Then it came into view. Something large, taking up the full space of the corridor, was charging at her with full speed! The front of it was covered with what looked like swords and knives that turned and twisted about. 

“Oh my god!” Rose breathed. She turned on her heel and began running as fast as her body could possibly go. She screamed: “DOCTOR!” 

———

The Doctor swiftly turned around at what he thought was the sound of Rose calling out to him. “Rose…” He breathed sadly as he looked about to see if she’d really been there. Nothing. Just a trick of the mind… or a trick of the game. He was surrounded by stone walls. Nothing but stone walls. Every time he thought he’d figured it out, the walls would switch around and he’d need to start over. 

“Right.” He touched the wall firmly with his right hand. “In a normal maze, if you keep your hand along the wall you will find your way…” He said to no one in particular. “This maze however changes on a regular basis.” He pulled his hand from the wall. “So that won’t work.” 

He leaned over and grabbed a nearby pebble, and scratched an ex into the stone beneath his his feet. Then he took a few steps and and sat on the ground. He rested his chin on the arms that he perched on his knees. After several minutes of staring, the stone lifted. He raised his head to get a better look. Four tiny creatures raised the block and flipped it so the ex was no longer visible, then they dropped it down flat. 

“I’d be impressed if that wasn’t so bloody well annoying!” The Doctor remarked with a hint of a smile. 

Lifting himself up to a stand, he dusted himself off and made to turn around and keep walking. Only now there was a solid wall. It had changed again. He grumbled. Then he turned to come back the way he’d came- but now there were two doors. The Doctor looked around swiftly. He was now trapped in a court yard. His only move forward was to go through one of the doors. The problem was- there were guards. 

“Hello!” The Doctor offered a wave as he approached the goat faced guards. Under closer inspection, the two looked like a face of cards. A head on each side of the shield, one upside right, the other upside down. “D’you mind if I pass?” He was direct, hoping his politeness would catch them off guard.

“The only way out of here is to try one of these doors.” The bottom face on the left said. He was all in red, the other in blue. 

“One of them leads to the castle and the centre of the labyrinth, and the other one leads to…” Dramatic effect. “Certain death!” All the heads ‘ooo’d’ together. The Doctor rolled his eyes. 

“So let me guess.” The Doctor took a step forward. “One of you always lies and one of you always tells the truth?” They all looked at one another in confusion. 

“Uh- yes.” Said the blue one cautiously. 

“and I need to ask one question to figure out which door is the right one?” They nodded silently. The Doctor crossed his arms. Then he took a step closer to the red guard. “A ripoff of the oldest riddle in the books.” He remarked with a smirk. “Thing is, bit of a genius, me. Riddles are nothing but fun. Yes or no: would he tell me your door is safe?” The guard was a little surprised, he looked down to his partner and they muttered what he should say. 

“Yes.” He said at last.

“Great.” The Doctor smiled. “I’ll take that one then.” The blue guard stepped out of his way and The Doctor stepped through the door. The floor gave out from under him. “You were both liars!” He yelled in frustration as he fell. “That’s not how it goes!” His voice become quieter the further he went. The guards shrugged and the blue one pulled his door closed. 

———

In the forest part of the labyrinth it was gloomy and dark. The sun couldn’t seem to cut through the trees, and there was a light fog everywhere. Trees and cobwebs sparkled with glitter to bring attention to the magic of this strange world. It was deafeningly quiet. There was something spooky about the air.

Suddenly, there was a great burst through the leaves, and Jack Harkness catapulted from an unseen opening. He landed hard on the leafy ground, his body skidded slightly from the velocity. He groaned and let his head fall back into the leaves. He shouldn’t have let his temper get the better of him but the pig man would have separated him and The Doctor regardless. He sighed. 

Jack wanted to lay in the leaves for a long time. A little nap might do him and his ego some good. He couldn’t stop thinking about the timer though. It was clear he needed to pull it together and find the other two as soon as possible. He pulled himself up from the ground and dusted himself off. A thought occurred to him that maybe Rose had been flung to the same place. 

“Rose!” He called out. The woods were quiet. He grunted and began walking in whatever direction his gut told him to go. Hopefully he could find them before it was too late. Certain and immediate death sounded pretty serious… he wondered how they might do that. Then he thought maybe it was best not to let his mind wander there. 

A snap of a twig caught his attention. He whirled around swiftly to take in all of his surroundings. Not seeing anything, he continued to walk again, but there had been another crack. He stopped and looked around once more. The woods were still dark, and still empty. 

“Rose?” Jack called out cautiously. He looked all around. There was another sound, the crunching of leaves. “Doctor, is that you?” He asked, now starting to feel his courage fading. He backed his body up again a tree and held his hands up at the ready for anything. “Show yourself!” Jack demanded. A strange sound started up. It sounded almost like… like some kind of music. Jack dropped his arms in confusion. “What the hell? What’s going on?” He asked taking a step forward. 

“YEEEAH!” A large orange bipedal beast popped out of the woods and landed in front of Jack with his arms up aggressively. Jack jumped back in surprise. It cackled at him. He turned around, and another orange creature was standing behind him, clanking sticks together like drum sticks. The music picked up from some unseen location. 

“What do you want?” Jack demanded. His tone was irritated as the creatures weaved in and out of his personal space laughing wildly. Several more orange things came out of the bushes to join the impromptu party. 

“We’re about to have a good time!” The first creature wailed. Jack kept turning around to try to keep them all in his site, but they were fast and wild. Normally, the Captain was all for a good time, but he wasn’t sure he liked the way these things were looking at him when they said it. A good time here might very well mean a very bad time for him.

“Who are you?!” He asked.

“The wild things, baby!” One of the creatures said waggling fingers at Jack in a strange manner. Jack furrowed his brow in confusion. “You wanna get wiiiiild?!” It asked. If the tone hadn’t been all wrong Jack might have thought the creatures were coming on to him. He grimaced at the idea, even he had standards. The first wild thing struck a match and started a fire. Jack stepped back from the sudden flames. 

“Nope. I’m good. That is almost always how some kind of rapey gang bang starts.” Jack said as he tried to escape the group. One of the wild things twirled him around, back into the centre of the pack. He steadied himself. “Where is that music coming from?” He asked, suddenly very irritated and aware of the strange sound track. 

“Chilly down with the Wild Gang!” The monsters began to sing. They danced around him, tickling him and shoving him as they went. Their song was full of playful lyrics but their attitudes remained somewhat sinister to Jack. The whole vibe was making his skin crawl. One of the wild things ripped its own hand off and tossed it into the fire causing Jack to gape in horror. He looked back at the wild thing and the hand had come back. 

“What the hell are you?” He asked, but they were singing too loud to notice him. He continued to watch in disgust as the assumed lead wild thing pulled out his eyeballs, rolled them on the ground like dice, then picked them up and ate them- only to have them re-appear inside his skull. Jack shivered. “I gotta get out of here.” He muttered to himself looking for easy exits from the clearing. It was becoming disturbingly clear that they weren’t going to leave him as part of the audience for long.

Now the beasts were taking off more body parts. Tossing their heads around, using their legs as golf clubs, using various body parts from each other to create new disgusting creations that made Jack’s stomach flip. He took that moment to try to bolt. He jumped over a log and under a branch, but the wild things were fast. One cut him off and grabbed him by the throat. 

“The good time ain't over.” The wild thing said, its eyes were glowing red. He tugged at Jack’s head in an attempt to pull it off. Jack raised a leg up and kicked the creature off with a powerful thrust. He touched his neck gently before bolting off into the woods. “Where you going with a head like that?!” The wild thing called. 

“Don’t you wanna be wild like us?” Another wild thing jumped out of the woods and ran beside him. It grabbed at his arm and pulled. Jack groaned in pain. 

“No thanks, rather fond of my limbs!” He twisted his body and used his free hand to punch the wild thing in its face as hard as he could. He continued running, they called out to him. They just wanted to play, they insisted. Jack didn’t look back. 

“Give us your ears!” One shrieked. “You don’t need two ears!” Jack could feel his heart beating in his skull. He had to keep running. He had to get away. Surely, if the whole group caught him, they would tear him limb from limb. 

——————

Rose, in the underground maze beneath the stone maze, was running for her life. Still being pursued by the horrible mechanical abomination with swords and knives spinning wildly around the front of it. She frantically remembered how The Doctor had run his hand along the wall and swiftly did the same. Surely somewhere there would be an unseen break that she could fall through. 

The machine clanked angrily behind her. Nipping at her heels. She could feel the tears starting to work up as she considered the end. Then she felt it, a gap. She pushed her body hard to the right. The machine clanked past. She looked back in time to see two goblins had been operating it via pedals. She let out an exhausted cry. How could something so deadly have looked so stupid. She pulled herself into a sitting position and leaned her back against the wall. Tears began to sting her eyes. 

“What do I do now?” She asked no one. “I’ll never be able to find The Doctor… this place is endless.” She let the tears fall and thrust her head back against the wall. “UGH, Doctor! Why do you always get us into these situations?!” She slammed her fist down onto the rocky floor. “No, I don’t mean that…” She muttered. “I just wish you were here…” She brought her knees in close and rested her head on them. She closed her eyes.

Somewhere, in a distant and equally as dark room, the pig man watched her on a video screen. He drummed his fingers on the control panel in front of him and allowed a sinister smile to form on his lips. He leaned back in his chair and rocked steadily. 

“Oh my.” He said. “This is very interesting indeed.” He hit a button and on another screen The Doctors face appeared. It was him earlier, when he had thought he hear Rose’s voice. When he whispered her name and looked out to the emptiness with worry dripping from his eyes. He paused both screens and laughed. “Oh this is too good. We’ve never had a romance twist on the show before!” He twirled around in his chair. “Usually the sexual appeal is in our Goblin King but… this could prove to be very good for the ratings.” He drummed his fingers together maniacally. Then he leaned forward and pressed down a button. 

“Send her to-“ He paused for a moment. “The gallery.” 

—————

The Doctor had been falling for what seemed like eternity to him. It was enough time for him to play out the previous scene in his mind dozens of times and still feel cheated. He should have known that they wouldn’t play fairly. It wouldn’t be very entertaining for the audience if he’d gotten through so easy. He regretted being so cocky. That was probably why they chose to sewer him, perhaps if he had of hammed it up a bit he could have passed. It was at that moment that The Doctor realized there were some unusual textures rubbing against him, slowing his fall dramatically to the point where he was suddenly suspended. Something was holding him up. He looked around, he had to blink a few times to adjust to the darkness. It felt almost like… hands? Many groping hands!

“Woah now,” He said as he caught his first glimpse of what was holding him up. The vertical tunnel seemed to be filled with ugly greenish hands sprouting from the wall. “What have we here?” The hands began shifting around him. A few hands joined together to create a crude face. 

“We’re helping hands!” Several voices joining in unison spoke from the strange face. 

“Oh, I like that. Fantastic!” The Doctor laughed and made a cheeky grin. “Real handsy though- aren’t you?” He laughed at his own joke. “Seriously though, watch them digits.” He spoke to a hand just beneath him. 

“Would you like us to let go?” They laughed as their grips loosened briefly and The Doctor dropped several feet. 

“Cheeky.” He said as he shifted around in their new grasps. “How do you work then? Sentient hands that grow from walls? Or is this tunnel one massive creature with thousands of arms?” He quirked his mouth to the side wishing he could scan the hands with his sonic screwdriver. “Can’t possibly be anything real, mind you. Not in this place."

“Would you like to go up or down?” Another face appeared. The Doctor looked up, then looked down. He remembered that Rose had fallen down, perhaps he could find her there.

“Well, since I’m pointed that way, I guess I’ll go down.” The hands wiggled and made faces excitedly. 

“He chose down?!” A face asked as it laughed. 

“Was that wrong?” The Doctor asked but he was already dropping. 

“Too late now!” Another face cackled. The Doctor dropped into the darkness once more. 

—————

A sudden noise broke Rose from her pity party. It was soft, but it was enough in that heavy silence to stir her back to her senses. She looked all around her, fearing a rat might be scurrying about… or some other horrible thing. No, no rat. In fact, the only thing that seemed to have changed was the addition of a door to the room. Rose jumped to her feet. The door could either be a way out, or more trouble. She bit at her lip anxiously. She took a step closer to the door, what other choice did she have at this point?

Rose pulled the door open, and peaked inside. She was not prepared for what had been on the other side. It was another dimly lit room only this one had flat, straight walls and several spot lights from the ceiling directed at paintings hanging neatly one by one. Rose stepped inside the door carefully. When her full body had entered the room, the door swung shut swiftly. She turned around but the door was gone. 

She cursed quietly, hoping she hadn’t made a mistake, then turned back to the paintings. Now she was trapped in an even smaller room. She took a step forward towards the paintings to have a good look at them. 

The first painting was of the TARDIS. There she sat, lonely and loyal, waiting for her trusty crew to return so they could leave this giant sandbox. Rose took a step forward to the next painting. It was of the castle that they had been trying to get to, the one she assumed she still needed to get to within the thirteen hours. She groaned thinking of the time she had just wasted. She took another step forward. This one made her gasp. He hand flew to her mouth. It was a striking portrait of The Doctor, suspended by dozens of gross looking hands. They looked as if the arms were growing right from the wall. His face was full of confusion and his head was craned back. His eyes were large and stared straight up into the small amount of light that washed over him. Rose reached a hand up and let it hover over the painting.

“Where are you, Doctor?” She breathed and then dropped her hand sadly to her side. She took another step forward. The next painting was a large portrait of the Not-Bowie Goblin King she had seen before. The attention to detail was breath taking. It looked so incredibly life like. She leaned into it and was shocked when she could hear it breathing. She stepped backward swiftly and her eyes darted all over the canvas. 

“A cheep trick.” She scoffed. She made to turn away but quickly thrusted her tongue out in defiance at the framed picture. Then she stepped forward to the final piece. It was a lovely scene of the hedge maze that they had seen from their first vantage point on the dune. She studied the bits and pieces of the maze for any potential hints to solving it, then she noticed a little figure. She leaned in and looked closer. It was moving! She leaned in again, nearly touching the canvas with her nose. It was Jack! She reached a hand up to touch the canvas but her hand fell through. She gasped. Then she stepped her body through. 

The hedge maze was flooded with light. Jack had narrowly escaped the wild things by slipping through a door in a large stone wall, but now he was fully boggled by the complexity of the hedge maze. His temper was starting to get the best of him as it seemed like every time he turned around the walls would move. The worst part was, he was starting to forget how he’d even ended up in such a place to begin with! A strange rustling sound caught his attention, and he turned the corner he had been nearing swiftly to see what it was.

“Rose?!” He was shocked. Rose was lying on the ground, her hair was a mess with bits of leaves and dirt. She looked up at Jack with vague surprise. 

“Yeah, it’s me.” She frowned as she attempted to pull the foliage out of her hair. Jack helped her up and then embraced her in a tight hug. 

“Oh thank God.” He sounded relieved. “What happened to you?” 

“Oh, you’ll never believe!” She threw her hands up in a way that insinuated a story was coming. They began to walk side by side. “So I fell, yeah? I landed in some kind of under ground portion of the maze! There were huge faces on the walls telling me I was going the wrong way!” Her hands moved around expressively as she spoke. “Next thing I know, David Bowie, of all people, shows up in a smart leather jacket and tight trousers telling me I have to ‘solve the labyrinth in thirteen hours’!” She used air quotations and tried to mimic Bowie’s voice. “Then he throws a ball down a hallway, and it turns into some kind of death machine on wheels! He’s gone, but the thing starts chasing me!” She moved her arms around to convey the running motion. “It’s nipping at my heels, yeah? I think it’s the end. No! There’s a gap in the wall- like The Doctor showed us earlier! I jump through, the thing passes, and then I’m in a room. A door appeared and it leads to another room. There were painting inside! All along the wall! I stepped into one, and here I am!” She thrust her hands up into the air. “Rolled out of a bush!” She clarified tossing a strand of hair up. 

“Wow.” Jack managed. 

“This place is absolutely wild.” Rose sighed. She was feeling much better with Jack around. 

“You don’t know the half of it.” Jack responded grimly. 

“Where’s The Doctor? Wasn’t he with you?” Rose asked suddenly. She turned her body to face Jack’s and gripped his arm. 

“Who?” He said dumbly. 

“What d’you mean who?” Rose stared blankly. “The Doctor! The man who got us here?” Jack blinked a few times and shook his head.

“Right, yeah, The Doctor.” He ran a hand through his hair and let out an anxious laugh. “I saw him in the last place you saw him.” Jack confessed. Rose looked crestfallen. “When you disappeared he went into that whole macho mode, you know the one.” Rose laughed at that. They began walking again. “He basically knew someone had been watching us, luring us in here, so he called them out. They came- we saw the Bowie- but The Doctor knew right away it couldn’t be him.” Rose nodded, of course he did. “Turns out, the guy running the show is weird little pig faced man!” Rose crinkled her nose.

“What?” She asked. “Why does a little pig face man want us running a great dirty maze?” 

“Oh it’s this whole thing.” Jack waved his hand. “Something about nostalgia.” Rose nodded but she wasn’t quite keeping up. “Essentially- this pig man guy has brought a movie from 1986 to life, and has people try to solve the labyrinth for entertainment purposes. To give them a little escapism from their depressing Marsian lives. That’s probably why this seems familiar to you, I bet you saw this movie as a kid.” 

“Oh, yeah!” Rose lit up. “That’s it!” Jack turned to her and grabbed her by the arms.

“You remember it? Is there anything about the plot that could help us escape?” His words were rushed out. He searched her eyes for the answers. 

“Oh, no, sorry.” Rose looked embarrassed. “I just meant that makes sense. A lot of this stuff seems familiar, but that’s it. I must have watched it when I was a babe. I was born in 1989, remember?” Jack released his grip and gave a disappointed sigh. 

“Okay, well, I almost had a plan.” He laughed. 

“Sorry.” Rose muttered. They walked in silence for a few minutes, looking around corners and boosting each other up to see if they were getting any closer to the centre. They didn’t seem to be getting anywhere. 

“Um… this may seem like a stupid question…” Jack began awkwardly as they walked side by side. “But uh… how did we get in this place?” Rose looked up at him as if he were mad, but then quickly looked down at the ground as if she were asking the same question. The silence hung heavily between them.

“Its the strangest thing…” She muttered. “I’ve got no idea.” Jack frowned and shoved his hands deep into his pockets. They were silent again for a few minutes as they ran their hands along the hedge. “I hope The Doctor is alright…” Rose said at last. Jack looked back at her. He had been attempting to find hidden exits. 

“Awe, come on, Rosie.” He grinned. “The Doc will be fine! He’s far better off than we are, I’m sure.” 

“That’s comforting.” She rolled her eyes. She brought her arms up to hug herself anxiously. “I saw him in one of the paintings back there…” Jack stepped over to her. “He looked like he was in trouble.” She looked up at him, her eyes dripping with concern. Jack tightened his lips and nodded gently. He leaned in and gave her a kiss on the forehead. 

“Hey-“ He said softly. “Remember that time you and I got trapped in that pit on Apolex Twelve?” Rose looked up and nodded. “You thought you saw The Doctor get eaten by a squid, and you cried and cried…”

“Uh yeah, I remember.” Rose grumbled with the hint of embarrassment as she pushed Jack away and began walking again. 

“Well, he was fine! Remember? He came and got us from the pit!” He threw his arms out and smiled. “Turned out he had gotten eaten on purpose so he could take it down from the inside! The man always has a plan.” Rose spun around on her heel to look Jack in the eye with serious air. 

“He’s not invincible.” She pointed out, causing Jack to shift awkwardly under he gaze. She turned again and continued to walk. 

“Oh, you gotta lighten up.” Jack groaned. “Getting your panties in a twist only lets them win.” Rose had to pause and think about that. It was true. She wasn’t normally like that, she was usually first in line to believe in The Doctor and stay positive. She shook her head as if attempting to rid herself of negative thoughts. 

“Ah, you’re right.” She sighed. “I don’t know whats gotten into me.” She looked up and around at the tall walls. “Maybe it’s this place. It’s so massive and it changes all the time… It makes me feel like I’m completely powerless. Like there is no way I can solve this unless the maze wants me to solve it.” She turned to Jack. “You know what I mean?”

“Yeah I do.” Jack nodded. “It’s almost like this place is alive…” They were quiet for a bit as they looked around anxiously. Then they started walking again. “Hey, you remember that time we were all locked in that holding cell?” He started to chuckle. 

“The one on Third Earth?” Rose asked, letting a little smile play at her lips. 

“Yeah.” Jack shook his head. “We sang that three part harmony for two hours solid…”

“They practically broke down the door to get us to shut up.” 

“We were able to knock out the guards and take their weapons… all because they got too irritated to think it out!” They both laughed. The memory was a fond one. All sitting on the floor singing a stupid song from Rose’s childhood like a group of school kids on the play ground. Jack drummed on his chin lightly as he tried to recall the tune. “Don’t put your junk in my back yard-“ he sang a little and then he laughed again. “What was your bit?” 

“Fish and chips and vinegar.” Rose said with a laugh. 

“Oh right!” Jack laughed. “Oh go on, do it, sing the bit.” 

“No, no.” Rose waved her hand dismissively. “It wouldn’t be right without The Doctor doing the bottles of pop bit.” Jack was disappointed but nodded. 

“Yeah, you’re right- we’ll do it when we’re together.” He smiled at Rose who smiled back. “A duet then!” He said suddenly. “Under pressure!” He sang high pitched. “Go on, do Bowie, it’s only appropriate!” They both laughed. Rose shoved Jack into the bush teasingly. 

“You always make me Bowie, I’d do better as Freddie.” Jack rebounded from the bush and rolled his eyes.

“Everyone always wants to be Freddie.” He said. They laughed again but their merriment was stalled when a loud roar cut through the air. “What was that?!” Jack asked, suddenly on guard. They heard it again, it was definitely a roar of some kind. Rose started running. “You’re running towards the sound?!” Jack called after her. 

They moved quickly, weaving through the thin path towards the strange noise. It got louder and louder as they went. They were also beginning to hear voices, a group of voices. They were talking and laughing between the roars. It sounded like something was being tortured, Rose could feel her heart pounding as they got closer. Just around the next corner and she was sure they’d see it. 

———————

The Doctor was still in the dark. Literally and figuratively. He had reached the end of the hall that he’d been sent down, and realized he had probably been lied to. Second time in the same hour. He would have to remind himself later to be a lot less trusting. At the end of the hallway there had been a ladder, and that was where he had ended up. Climbing that ladder. 

It seemed to stretch on forever. Below there was darkness, and above there was darkness. The Doctor groaned as he again punished himself for being so naive so many times. It was almost as if this place was messing with his ability to think properly. He briefly wondered if Rose was still down in the dark or if she had made it back up to the light. He wondered how far she had gotten and if she had been told the instructions for the game. What would her reaction have been to seeing a celebrity from her time in such a weird place. She probably said something ridiculous to him, like ‘oh my gosh you’re still alive’. The idea made him laugh. 

His head suddenly hit something hard. He was at the top. 

The Doctor groaned and rubbed his head. This whole experience was becoming nothing but a pain. He looked up and began pushing with one hand. To his relief there was a door, or a lid rather, and it was shifting slightly. He pushed harder. It began to slide heavily to the side. The Doctor pushed himself upward, using his shoulders and head to push. The lid clanged loudly as it fell to the ground. The Doctor poked his head up like a meerkat. 

It was sunny and bright. He was now in the hedge part of the labyrinth. He grinned from ear to ear. It was nice to be out of the dark. He pulled himself up and realized he had been standing inside a vase. As he stepped out of it, he regarded that the vase had not been connected to the ground. As if he had stepped out of some kind of portal. 

“Impressive.” He muttered to himself as he inspected the area beneath the vase. He hated to give any credit to the madman forcing them to perform like lab rats, but he couldn’t help himself. 

A shuffling sound interrupted his thoughts, and The Doctor turned swiftly to see what the cause was. He was shocked to find an old man, a very old man with a long white beard and long ancient robes. The man shuffled slowly with the aid of a cane, on his head was a massive and absolutely absurd bird shaped hat. The Doctor quickly approached. 

“Hello!” The Doctor waved. The man stopped and turned to face him in a painfully slow manner. 

“Well!” The old man wheezed. “What can I do for you, young man?” The Doctor grinned at the compliment of being called young. This man was likely centuries younger than him. 

“He looks simple.” The Doctors head jerked up in surprise. The hat had spoke! “Just grinning there like a muppet.”

“Would you please be quiet?” The old man groaned in irritation. The Doctor smiled again. What an unusual sight. If nothing else, this place was loaded with incredibly creative characters. 

“Ah, yes, I’m actually looking for a couple friends of mine.” The Doctor began walking alongside the old man as he shuffled towards a massive stone chair. “A young girl, blonde, about yay-high? And a man, white shirt, tan trousers- both a bit too tight for him.” He finished. The man climbed into the chair and sat down.

“Hmmm.” The man began. He stroked his beard thoughtfully. “Friendship.” He said suddenly. “The state of being a helpful ally… a companion, a partner…” He began to drone on and The Doctor was starting to realize that he had likely made another mistake. 

“Oi, mate.” The bird hat caught his attention, and he looked up again. “He’s going to be going on like that for a while. You won’t get much out of him that’ll be helpful to you.” The Doctor frowned and nodded. “I’ve seen your man, though.” The Doctor’s eyes brightened. 

“You have? Where?!” 

“Ah, what will you give me for it?” The hat asked lowering its head to give The Doctor a look. The Doctor frowned and crossed his arms.

“You’re a hat, what would you do with money?” The bird hat pulled its head back up and thought for a moment. 

“Fair point.” It said. “Right, well, your mate was just coming through the door at the stone wall. Looked in an awful hurry, like he’d been chased by something in the forest.” The Doctor furrowed his brow in concentration. “That was a while ago… but the walls in that direction.” He thrusted his beak forward and The Doctor followed it. 

“Fantastic! Thanks!” The Doctor beamed as he ran off. The old man was still talking about the meaning of friendship and the hat let out a loud sigh. 

“it’s so stimulating being your hat.” 

——————

The roaring sound that Jack and Rose had followed was emitting from a creature just around the corner. Rose had her body flat against the bush as she carefully stepped closer to the corner. Once there, she peeked her head around the corner. Here eyes grew wide. 

The source of the noise had been a great, hairy, hulk of a beast. It was hanging upside down from a thick rope tied to a tree. It flailed its arms angrily as five small and excitable men jabbed it with sticks. The men were wearing spiked helmets and matching shoulder pads, at the end of their sticks were small creatures that gnashed their teeth with every thrust. The beast wailed out in pain as the small creatures bit into its hair body. 

“We have to do something.” Rose whispered. Jack was leaned over next to her, they were almost cheek to cheek. 

“Are you insane?” He whispered harshly. She turned her face to look at him and he had to pull back to see her. Her face was a mixture of irritation and disappointment. Jack let out a sigh.

Rose crouched down and picked up a rock that was near her foot. She tossed it with all her strength, hitting one of the little men on the head. It was a direct hit! His helmet spun and he wailed in confusion. 

“Who threw that?!” The other men all turned to look at him. Their faces were covered by the helmets, it was hard to tell if they could actually see or not. Jack bent down and picked up an even bigger rock than the one Rose had found. He whipped it hard and it connected with another man’s helmet. It knocked the man off his feet. The men looked around rapidly. 

“There!” One of the men pointed at Rose and Jack. They all screamed in anger. 

“Get them! Hang them from the tree!” 

“Now what?” Jack asked sarcastically. Rose turned and pushed him. They started running back the way they came. The men were racing after them. Jack grabbed Rose by the hand and pulled her around a corner. They both pressed themselves into the hedge as deep as it would let them. Luck was on their side. The men were too stupid, or too hard of sight, they just kept running down the straight path. 

The two stood silent for a moment. Breathing heavily, they looked at each other and let out a little laugh. Jack took a few steps out and looked onto the path they’d just ran through. No one in sight. He let out a sigh of relief. 

“They’re gone.” He said quietly. Rose pulled herself from the bush and headed back out the way they had come. “Hey, what are you doing?” She ignored Jack’s question and stepped with purpose out to where the beast was still hanging. Jack ran after her. “Rose! Stop!” He begged, glancing back to be sure the little men were gone. 

“We’ve got to save it.” She climbed up onto the tree and took hold of the knot. Jack brought a palm swiftly to his forehead. Between Rose and The Doctor, Jack was sure to lose his mind in all the reckless heroisms. Things like that were the reason he’d started sleeping so much more. It was exhausting trying to parent the two of them. 

“Rose, look at that thing!” He gestured to the beast that was swinging its arms in a desperate attempt to free itself. It breathed heavily. “If you set that thing free it is one hundred percent going to eat us.” 

“Trust me!” Rose said loosening the knot. “I feel like I remember this bit! I’ve got a good feeling!” 

“Okay but like, literally everything here has tried to kills us. Everything.” Jack eyed the beast as it groaned in an effort to reach its own foot. Rose ignored him. She smiled as the knot finally came undone and the beast fell to the floor with a loud ‘oof!’.

“Sorry!” Rose cringed. She jumped down from the tree and joined Jack. They both stood on edge as the hairy creature began to rise to its full height. Rose gulped, if Jack was right about that thing she would never hear the end of it. 

The beast turned slowly to look back at them. Its ears were long and floppy like a dogs, its nose was small, its eyes were beady, and its mouth was very wide with rows upon rows of teeth sticking out. It’s body heaved up and down as it breathed heavily. It’s back was hunched and its massive knuckles dragged on the ground. As it observed the two humans in front of it, the creature began working up a sort of sound. Perhaps trying to speak.

Wrong. 

It bellowed the loudest, most earth shattering roar. The noice was so intense it rattled the couples ear drums inside their heads. They both reached up for their ears instinctively. Jack gave Rose a look that screamed ‘told you so’ before the beast made a move to charge. It leaned forward on its knuckles and propelled itself forward in their direction. They dodged quickly crashing into the hedges on opposite sides. 

Rose groaned and pulled herself from the bush as the monster attempted to turn itself around. Its size made it move slower, Rose counted her blessings for that. She crossed over to help Jack up from the ground and the two bolted for an opening on the other side of the court yard. The beast followed them with great effort, roars sending tremors down their spines. 

“Can’t just keep your hands to yourself!” Jack huffed as they turned a corner. 

“Shut it!” Rose snapped, they turned another corner. 

—————

“Doctor!” 

The Doctor was still in the hedge maze. He had been making steady progress towards the castle if the position of the sun was anything to go off of, which it probably wasn’t. That was when he thought her heard her again. His body froze, he was sure this time he had heard Rose yelling. It sounded so near. He started to run. 

“Rose!” He yelled. There was a strange sound, of something quite big moving at a rapid pace. 

“Doctor?!” He heard it again, it was Rose! She was so close. He ran faster. A dead end, he turned, ran faster still. 

“I hear you! Rose, I’m coming!” The Doctor turned another corner, and another. He hit another dead end, turned and went back for the next best option. “Keep calling out!” He instructed. He paused for a moment. There was no response. He stopped, his breath heavy as he listened carefully. Nothing. “Damn!” He shouted angrily as he kicked a rock roughly with his boot. 

“Temper, temper, Doctor.” 

The Doctor whipped around to see the pig man. He was lounging casually at the feet of a tall, stone, Bowie statue. The Doctor scowled upon the sight of him. He was still wearing the awful wig, only now in a more casual costume. Presumably another from the film. The Doctor took a step forward. 

“What have you done with her?” He asked with authority. The pig man’s eyes grew wide and he oinked loudly. 

“Oh Doctor! You BAMF!” He kicked his legs into the air and wiggled them giddily. “You’re oozing with that heroic quality that’s so appealing in a main player." The Doctor had lost all patience for this creature. He didn’t like playing by the rules of others, he didn’t like being someones play thing. His temper was starting to boil. The pig man made a serious face suddenly, there was something playing in his eyes. “You were so close, you know that?” It was like a kick to his hearts. “You’re just dying to see her again, aren’t you?” 

“I swear, if she’s hurt-“

“Oh, what?” The pig huffed and lifted itself into the air. “What are you going to do, Doctor? Kick a rock? Go on a tangent?” He rolled onto his back and looked at the Doctor upside down. “You don’t frighten me.”

“I should.” The Doctor’s voice was cold. 

“Hmm.” The pig shrugged. He floated around The Doctor and spoke over his shoulder. “How do you like the game then, Doctor? I’m sure for a great brain like yours you’re quite in your element. This is probably a real thrill for you.” The Doctor remained silent. “I want to show you something, actually.” He swung around and hovered just in front of The Doctor. “I’ve never done this before but- I feel a sort of connection between us, don’t you?” He pointed a finger back and forth between them as he waited for The Doctor to respond. He didn’t. “No matter,” The pig man waved his hand. “Now, I want your honest opinion.” 

The pig man held his arms to the side, just as he had before, and when he pulled them apart a screen appeared, once again. The screen clicked to life. It was solid black, with a logo that looked like blob with a face and some alien writing under it. It faded, then several lines started to come together in shades of purple and blue. A voice began to narrate. 

“Sixteen seasons have come and gone. No one has ever made it to the end…” A shot of Rose falling into the darkness flashed on the screen. She had given a little yelp. It cut back to the lines. They looked to be forming a simple maze like pattern. “This time it all changes… this time, they have a chance…” It cut to a scene of The Doctor inspecting the walls, then a scene of Jack hurtling over a fallen tree, then a scene where Rose was walking alone in the dark. “This season, three new challengers are about to shake things up.” The music started to gain speed. A scene of Jack punching an orange bird like creature flashed and then froze on impact and his name appeared in bold lettering. Jack looked even more handsome than usual, sweat glistening off his skin, his brow furrowed, his fist massive. The next scene was one of Rose, she was running from some sort of machine. It froze on her too, her name appeared. She too was glistening, her lips parted, her eyes wide but focused, her shirt seemingly a lot tighter than The Doctor had remembered it being. Then the next scene. The Doctor falling into the pit of hands. It froze on his goofy smile. He remembered how he’d laughed at the ‘helping hands’ gag. Figures they’d pick that dumb look to freeze on. No sexy filter for him. He shifted his posture. 

“Follow them into a dazzling world, where anything is possible and nothing is what it seems!” The voice called again, the maze was starting to come together now. A few more scenes flashed by, much quicker now. The Doctor running, Jack and Rose laughing, Jack sitting in the dark… then there was an image of Rose looking sad at a painting of the Doctor. ‘where are you, Doctor?’ She whispered as her fingers lingered. It changed again. Now it showed The Doctor yelling, things he had only spoken a few moments ago. ‘What have you done to her?’. He winced at how angry he looked. Then a strange shot of a sort of ballroom flashed onto the screen, followed by a brief image of The Doctor dancing with a very done up Rose. Then it flashed several images of beasts and landscapes that The Doctor had either seen, or not seen in the last few hours. “The world-“ the voice came back. “Of Labyrinth.” The maze formed the title of the show, and it suddenly sprung to life in a very eighties style font. A tag line faded in underneath it that promised ‘the best season yet’. 

“You know I’m going to solve it.” The Doctor said flatly. The pig man frowned and clapped his hands together. The screen disappeared. “You’re just trying to stall me now. It’s not going to work.”

“You keep that cocky attitude, Doctor, it will do nothing to help you- but the people do love an arrogant hero. The more they boast the better it is when they fail.” The pig man floated up high posing just in front of the Bowie statue. “Oh, I do hope you’re having fun, Doctor.” He wined. “I know I am.” He grinned and performed a lovely pirouette, then vanished.

“Waste of time.” The Doctor grumbled. He knew the pig man was just trying to stir him up by showing him that teaser for the show. Only it hadn’t worked. It had the reverse effect. The Doctor let a small smile grace his lips. The pig man had made a huge error. The Doctor easily picked up on the fact that some of the images he’d already seen, but some were clearly to come. The most obvious being that he would be reunited with Rose. He also took comfort in knowing that Rose was with Jack again. 

The Doctor was more confident than ever that he was going to solve that labyrinth. With his previous fears suddenly washed away he would be able to focus his brain on the task at hand. He didn’t need to worry about Rose, and Jack could handle himself. He would connect with them soon.


	3. Everything's Dancing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yes, THAT scene is in this chapter. Queue the whimsical music!

Jack and Rose burst through the hedges. The beast was still hot on their tails. Somehow, no matter how many twists and turns they took he was always able to find them. It was as if the hedges were moving for him to make it easier. The two humans huffed and wheezed as they tried to regain their breaths. They had just entered another courtyard. There was a large stone wall, and two doors with knockers on them. They knew they were trapped, the beast would be on them in seconds. 

Rose rushed forward to one of the doors and began pounding on it. Jack took to the other and did the same. They didn’t budge. There were no handles. 

“Oh come on, come on!!” Rose yelled. “Why won’t you open?!” 

“HUH?!” The door knocker had come to life! It looked confused at her, the brass ring was looped through its ears. 

“Oh!” Rose jumped back. “Oh please, how do we get in?!” She had no time to be surprised. The beast was crashing through another hedge. So close. 

“EH?!” The knocker yelled again. The other door knocker at Jack’s door mumbled something. The brass ring for him was hanging from his mouth. Jack quickly pulled it out. 

“Thank-you!” The knocker gasped. “That feels so good!” 

“How do we get through?!” Rose yelled impatiently. 

“Easy does it.” The knocker looked her up and down. Rose groaned. The beast burst through the hedges and gave a horrible cry. Everyone winced at the noise. 

“WHAT?” Except for the knocker who evidently couldn’t hear it. Jack made a snap decision and hurled the heavy brass ring toward the beast. It collided with his skull with a painful thud and knocked him back. He lost his footing and crashed to the ground.

“We don’t have much time, please, how do we get through?” Jack pleaded with the knocker. 

“Just knock and the door will open.” The knocker explained. Jack looked at Rose.

“Where do they go?” She asked cautiously, her hand poised on the brass ring in front of her. 

“Who cares! Knock!” Jack reached over and clasped his hand over Rose’s and began knocking. The beast stirred, it was climbing back to its feet. The door began to open slowly. Jack bounced anxiously as the beast got back up and shook its head. It roared at them with force. Jack looked back as it began to charge. He pushed Rose through the door and jumped in after her. 

They both turned and pushed their weight on the door. The beast clutched onto it at the last second, when there was only a crack left. He pushed with his monstrous strength but Rose and Jack didn’t give up. They gave it everything they had. Just a little left… click! They got it. They both crashed to the floor in exhaustion. 

“Don’t say it.” Rose pointed at Jack who had given her a look. They both panted like dogs. 

“I wasn’t going to say anything.” Jack lied, shaking his head innocently. Rose nodded. 

It seemed that they were now in the forest part of the labyrinth. There was a glimmer of hope in Rose that knew the castle had to be much closer now. Only, having a look around, the forest maze was probably going to be the hardest one yet. The forest was thick, and there were no real paths to walk on and no way of seeing the sky to get a baring from the sun. It was just a dark mess.

“Well, come on then.” She groaned as she stood up. She dusted herself off and offered her hand to Jack. 

“There’s something I should warn you about.” He said as he made it to his feet. They started walking. “I’ve already been in the forest. It’s where I was dropped when I fell through the ground. When I was here before, there was a group of creatures calling themselves ‘the wild things’” He used air quotes. Rose laughed a little. “No, it’s not meant to be funny. Those things were insane. They popped their limbs off like deranged Mr. Potato Head dolls. They tried to rip my limbs off!” He lowered his voice. “I think it’s best we stay quiet, and keep our eyes peeled. If you see those orange fireballs you just run, okay? Run like hell. Do not let them break into song.” Rose nodded. They were silent for a little while, just taking in the gloomy scenery. Rose looked at her feet suddenly. 

“Did you hear him back there?” She asked shyly. Jack looked at her. “When we were running… I swear I heard him call my name…” She didn’t want to meet Jack’s eyes. He was quiet for a few minutes. 

“I didn’t hear anything.” Jack said softly. Rose nodded. The maze was playing tricks on her mind. Half the people probably died because they were driven to insanity. Jack gave Rose a little side eye and let a soft smile fall on his lips. “I never stood a chance, did I?” He asked suddenly. Rose looked up.

“What?” 

“Oh, nothing.” Jack smirked and looked up into the dark trees. “Just you and The Doctor.” Rose blushed and looked away. 

“We’re just mates.” She said flatly. “Why does everyone think we’re together?” She groaned and shoved her hands into her jean pockets. Jack let out a breathy laugh.

“No idea,” He said sarcastically. “Could be that they saw the way you look at each other, or talk about each other when the other isn’t around…” Rose scoffed and looked up as if what she was hearing was absolute insanity. 

“You’re out of your head.” She shook her head with a smile. Jack just stared at her, a serious tone set into his playful eyes. 

“You love him, don’t you?” There was silence. Rose stopped smiling. She cleared her throat uncomfortably, then looked up at Jack with a fake smile. 

“Of course, you love him too.” Jack shook his head. 

“Naw, naw, naw, it’s not the same thing. Don’t turn this around.” He laughed. “I’m not the one fantasizing about curling up into that big leather jacket…” He paused. “Or actually, maybe I am.” They both laughed. “It’s those big ears, they really get me going.” Rose laughed harder. She swatted a hand at Jack.

“Ugh, I just realized…” She said suddenly. Her voice falling to a dull groan. “If this is some kind of reality show are people watching us right now? Every little thing we do or say?” They both looked around. Rose felt humiliated as she remembered crying in the dark underground maze. 

“Well, I’m sure they have to edit it for broadcasting.” Jack offered, still looking around. “They’d want to cut out a lot of this gabbing you and I are doing.” Rose laughed. 

“Oh yeah, if I had to sit and watch us wander around a forest for hours I’d take that time to run to the bathroom, change the laundry, grab some crisps.” She held her hands up. “Insert commercial break here!” She cried out. They both laughed. Then she clutched Jack’s arm and gasped. “Oh God- do you think they’ll film us going to the loo?” Her eyes were wide in horror. Jack cringed at the thought. 

“I don’t even want to think about it.” He said. Rose released his arm. She silently prayed that nature would hold its calls till after they were safely on the TARDIS. The walked a little while longer. “You think The Doctor has to use a bathroom?” Jack asked suddenly causing Rose to go bright red. 

“What is wrong with you?!” She asked shrilly. She began swatting him with her arms over and over. He laughed uncontrollably. 

“Eh! Take it easy! Just making conversation!” He had his arms up in mock defence and laughed as the onslaught continued. Rose was laughing too- but then something caught her eye that made her hands go into slow motion, then stop. Jack lowered his guard as he looked at her. 

“Hey, look.” She said pointing as if Jack wasn’t already paying attention to her. He followed her finger and saw what she had seen. It was a peach tree. A lovely little peach tree glowing in what had to be the one and only spot of sunlight in the entire forest. Her eyes glazed over. “I didn’t realize how hungry I was till just now.” She started to walk towards the tree. 

“Uh, I don’t think that’s such a good idea…” Jack said, he took a few steps after her. “Come on, Rose. Let’s go.” 

“No way, I haven’t eaten in hours.” She looked back at him and frowned. “It’s just a peach.” Jack sighed impatiently and crossed his arms. Rose reached, lifting herself onto her tip toes and extending her arm as far as she could to grab the nicest looking peach on the tree. 

“Rose, I have a really bad feeling-“ Suddenly the ground opened and Jack fell through, just as he had before. It was so swift and so sudden that he had barely made a gasp as he disappeared from sight. Rose hadn’t noticed, her back had been to him the whole time. Her fingers connected with the peach and it dropped right off into her palm. She smiled victoriously. 

“You want one?” She asked without turning around. There was no answer. “What a spoil sport.” She muttered as she took a large bite. She chewed and swallowed in record time, then turned to join Jack once more. He was gone. She looked around, then all of a sudden she froze. The peach rolled from her hand and onto the dirty ground. Her pupils grew three times in size and her mouth slowly parted, lips still glistening from the peach juice. She stumbled a few steps forward.

“Everythings dancing…” She whispered before collapsing onto the leafy ground.

———————

Hedge maze.

Still in the bloody hedge maze!

The Doctor moved swiftly through the different paths and openings. He turned around corners, climbed up steps, down little hills, but he didn’t seem to be making any progress. The castle looked like it was in the exact same position it had been in the entire time he’d been there. He knew he couldn’t let it irritate him. He knew that was exactly what they wanted. There had to be some way to outwit them, after all, he was The Doctor, that was what he did best! Only, his head seemed to be in some kind of fog and his concentration was not as razor sharp as usual. Something in the air was effecting the brain, it troubled him immensely to wonder what sort of effects it might have on a human being. It would seem the labyrinth had a lot more tricks up a sleeve than the obvious ones. They truly did not want anyone to succeed. He carried on.

Upon turning another corner he found himself at another dead end. This time, however, in the centre of the dead end was a lovely peach tree. The peaches hung, glowing in the bright sunlight. He eyed them cautiously as he approached the tree. His brow furrowed as he thought. 

“Mysterious peach tree.” He said. “Seems like someone wants me to have a bite.” His tone was casual, he reached up and pulled a peach from the tree. He inspected it and then tossed it over his shoulder without another thought. “Too obvious.” He stated before turning on his heel and walking back the way he’d came. He carried on for a little while, continuing to go through openings and make turns. Then something else odd caught his attention. “Bubbles?” He muttered curiously. 

The bubbles drifted and bopped along the path like a tiny parade. They passed by The Doctor unassumingly at eye level. He began to follow the trail, looking for the source of the bubbles. He took a few steps, turned a corner, then another few steps… they just kept coming. Then he took a closer look. As one of the bubbles floated very near his face he could see that there was something inside. He squinted his eyes and blinked twice. It almost looked like… maybe it could be… no it definitely was, Rose! He could see Rose standing inside the bubble dressed in a beautifully ornate ball gown. 

“How’d you get in there?” He asked the bubble as if Rose would answer him. Then he turned, bringing his attention ahead of him once again. There, in his path, now stood a massive bubble. It took up the space of the entire path making it so that he couldn’t get around. It was advancing forcing The Doctor to take a few steps back. He looked back over his shoulder and was not too surprised to find that he was now standing at a dead end. 

“Classic.” He muttered. The bubble was close now. The Doctor looked up and around to see if there was any way he could escape. Nothing. The only idea left was to… raise his pointer finger up and hope to pop it. It was, after all, just a bubble. 

The bubble slowly came in contact with the finger. It curved gently around it at first, but just when it appeared that it might burst, it absorbed the finger into itself! The Doctor groaned. This was certainly not how he had hoped to see the end. Eaten by a bubble. Nine hundred years, eaten by a bubble. He rolled his eyes. The bubble was now working up his arm. He planted his feet firmly and pulled away from it. There was no use. It had a tight hold. It was taking in his leg, then his body. He craned his head back as far as he could- then nothing. He was gone. 

—————

Dozens of screens flickered in the dark. Various locations of the labyrinth on full display, most completely lifeless. One showed the massive bubble that had swallowed The Doctor, it lifted from the maze and drifted off into the sky with all the other tiny bubbles. Another screen showed a dark room, a faint light revealing what appeared to be the unconscious face of Jack Harkness. 

The pig man stepped into the light of the screens and licked his horrible pig lips. His eyes were hungry and malicious. His hands twitched with anticipation. He fixed his sights onto one screen in particular, and lowered himself into the control chair. He leaned back comfortable and rubbed his hands together. 

“Delicious…” He muttered. “Absolutely delicious.” He leaned himself forward again as Rose came into view on his screen. He gripped the control panel in front of him eagerly. 

——————

It was a ballroom. A magnificent, if not a little gaudy, ballroom. There were chandeliers with crystals and candles hanging from everywhere at varying heights. There was drapery over everything and anything. Pillows of all shapes and sizes could be found in piles all over the room. Little bits of white and gold Twinkled everywhere the eye could possibly look. It was stunning. 

Rose was dressed to match it. Her ball gown was massive, the texture and volume was very akin to a bubble. It shimmered romantically in the light. Bits of gold and white ornamental design highlighted and brought out her features. Her golden hair had been curled, and blown out to look much like her mother’s had at Sarah Clark’s wedding. A neckless hung from her slender throat, and brought attention to her bare shoulders and collar. 

She walked aimlessly. Her name, the reason she was there, or where she was in the first place, had completely slipped her mind. She was a blank canvas but she wasn’t at all disturbed by it. The scenery around her was enough of a distraction for her to not worry. A lovely warm and relaxing feeling washed over her as she looked about. Everyone was wearing masks, ever single person. She reached her hand up to her own face lazily to reveal that she was the only one not wearing a mask. It made her feel naked, stupid and ashamed at her unpreparedness. 

A song played softly in the background. It was barely audible over the sounds of everyone chattering and laughing. It all looked like such a good time, only, Rose felt like there was a very good reason why it shouldn’t be a good time. She felt a little drunk, as if maybe her mind wasn’t completely her own anymore. She found herself moving slowly through the room, looking about at all the guests. Several strangers made moves to talk to her or to touch her, but she just kept moving like they weren’t there. Their voices seemed to be muted or muffled and she couldn’t be bothered to try to sort that out. 

Suddenly she stopped. Something made her freeze. She could feel eyes on her. Rose turned quickly, her eyes fell on something that made her breath catch. It was the strangest man… he just stood there. Staring at her it seemed. Everyone dancing and laughed and moved around him, and he just stood there. Still like a statue. It made her blood run cold. 

The man wasn’t dressed like anyone else there. He was so plain. A simple leather jacket and jumper with black trousers. It seemed so awkward in that setting. What troubled her the most, however, was his eery mask. It was plain as well but in a very eery way that made Rose shiver. It was just a silver smooth piece that covered his entire face. There was a small thin line for the mouth, and the eyes were two black holes with what looked like little tear drops coming out each one. It was haunting. She couldn’t pull her eyes away. 

A couple danced in front of her and called out to her in their strange muted voices. Rose waved her hand in a shooing motion as she tried to look past. When they’d gone, the man was no longer there. Her skin crawled. She took a few steps forward and looked around the room. He was nowhere in sight. Maybe he had left. She turned. He was there! Standing right behind her! She stared with wide fearful eyes. The featureless mask was silent. It took two purposeful steps toward her, she took a step back. 

I woman with a mask that looked like a dragon’s face suddenly swept in between them and clasped onto the strange man. They began to waltz around the room. Such beautiful fluid motions. Rose couldn’t help but watch them spin and sway through the crowd. All the while the mask looked her way. Not wanting to lose sight of her. She suddenly realized she needed to get out of there. Needed to get away from him. 

Rose began to push her way through the crowd. A couple men stopped her, they urged her to have a look in their box. She was confused. She tried to shoo them, they were persistent. She leaned forward and lifted the box, they revealed a trick wooden snake to startle her. They both laughed. Rose frowned. Observing the men now she noticed that they had very phallic noses. In fact, everything in the ballroom seemed to reek of sexuality. 

Everywhere that Rose looked was some sort of innuendo that made her squeamish. The masks, the back rooms with curtains open to display lovers at play, the piles of pillows covered in groups of people writhing about. Rose blushed and tried to look away. She wasn’t a prude, but she did have some class. Her need to escape was stronger now than ever. 

A look to the left made her jump. A woman who had been holding an open fan slowly shut it to reveal the strange man with the silver mask. He was draped on both sides with beautifully dressed women. They leaned on him, fawning over his existence like he was the heart throb of the party. Despite that, his body language remained the same. Rigid and statuesque. The women tickled at his neck and ran their hands into his jacket. The whole scene disturbed Rose to her core, but she couldn’t seem to break away. There was a feeling inside that didn’t seem right… was that jealousy? She furrowed her brow in confusion. Why should she be jealous?

Then the man raised a hand very slowly. So slowly it was as if time had slowed down. He reached up to the mask, and very gently, pulled it down and off of his face. Blue eyes were revealed first. The most captivating blue eyes that Rose had ever seen. They pierced right through her, unblinking and unashamed at their direct contact with her. Then a strong nose, high cheekbones, a firm mouth that was emotionless, and then the mask was just gone. Where it went Rose couldn’t say for sure, her eyes were now transfixed on his.

The stranger took a commanding step forward, releasing the women from their perched positions. They faded off into the background. He took another step and lifted his arms as if he were the dancer from inside her childhood jewelry box. Rose mirrored his movement and they began to dance. Their eyes, still not breaking for a single second. She wasn’t sure how he was guiding them, or how he knew where to go without bumping into someone, but she didn’t care. 

It was the strangest feeling. Only moments ago she had been so terrified by this person, and then suddenly that feeling was completely replaced. Replaced by something unknown to her. A powerful something. It was like all she ever wanted was to be in that moment with that stranger, and nothing else mattered. The song had become a lot clearer to her now. She could hear the light notes as they moved across the floor. 

The man’s eyes were so intense upon her own. He seemed so serious, so concentrated on her and nothing else. Almost like he couldn’t look at anything else, like he was a slave to her image. Rose was spellbound as well, her mind swimming in a warmth that made her feel inebriated in a way she had never felt before. 

Then all of a sudden the man’s eyes seemed to take on a different emotion before blinking several times. He squeezed them shut, then brought them wide open and looked up at the ceiling. Then they fell on Rose again, only this time riddled with confusion. Then he broke into a smile. 

“Oh, hello.” He said cheerily. It caused Rose to furrow her brow and reel her head back a little. She wasn’t sure what was happening. “Rose Tyler, fantastic.” He grinned as he continued to dance. “I knew I’d find you here. You look beautiful by the way.” Rose shook her head. 

“You know me, Sir?” The Doctor blinked, wide eyed. It was as if he was a completely different character now. 

“Rose, it’s me.” The Doctor released her hand briefly to put it onto his chest. “The Doctor.” He clarified. She furrowed her brow again. That name rang no bells. She was becoming uneasy, she wanted to flee again. “Don’t you remember?” He said, he sounded a little worried. That triggered something in her brain. It was like something was shifting. Like her mind wasn’t her own. It was getting a refresh. Like someone had hit the reset button. 

“I remember…” The Doctor raised his eyebrows in anticipation for her next word. She spoke very timidly as she tried to reach back. The cogs were visibly turning. Why couldn’t she remember anything? Who the hell was she? Why was she at a ball? She was scared for a second, but then everything got warm. Really warm. I strange smile spread across her face, like the cat that ate the canary. “Dancing.” The Doctor took a few shocked blinks.

“Sorry?” He asked. 

“I remember dancing, Doctor.” Rose threw her head back and laughed. The Doctor furrowed his brow. She brought her head back to the surface and grinned, her tongue poking cheekily between her teeth. She’d never really looked at him like that before. “Oh yes, like it was yesterday.” Her words were coming out very silky. Not at all like they had a few moments ago. She went from scared child to woman with confidence in moment. “I was picking up on all your innuendos, Doctor.” Her eyes focused on his lips for a second while she ran her tongue across her top teeth. She was still grinning. “I knew what you meant.” She said the last bit in a whisper. It was The Doctor’s turn to look confused. 

“Rose,” He said firmly. “We need to get out of here. The whole thing is sick entertainment for a sad nation of people. This imaginary world is based off a movie you likely saw as a babe- tell me, tell me you remember it.” He spoke seriously, searching her eyes for some resemblance of thought. She was a half lidded mess. 

“Oh Doctor,” She sighed and pressed herself firmly against him. Her cheek resting on his leather clad chest. “Don’t you love this song?” 

“I don’t hear a song.” He stated. Still moving so as to not attract attention from the other guests. Rose turned her head so that she was facing The Doctor. She tilted her head back and her breath tickled his neck teasingly. The Doctor looked up at the ceiling and held his breath. This wasn’t fair. 

“We’re choosing the path between the stars.” Rose whispered into his ear gently. The Doctor pulled her away and examined her face. He resumed the standard waltzing frame and continued to dance. 

“What did you say?” He asked as he eyed the room. The walls were covered in drapery, he wondered what might be behind that. Maybe a door somewhere. 

“I’ll lay my love between the stars.” Rose whispered. The Doctor turned to look down at her. She was eyeing him in a way that made his spine tingle with pleasure. Rose pulled her hand from his, and raised both hands to gently cradle his face. “I want you, Doctor. More than I’ve wanted anything.” She pulled his face down and crashed his lips upon her own with force. His hands were raised in shock. She leaned her body into him and kissed feverishly. He attempted to turn his head but her grip was tight. She trailed the kisses along his jaw.

“Aw, hell.” He groaned and wrapped his arms around her to hold her up as he tilter her back and gave as good as he got. It was full of passion and fire. Their lips and their tongues working together as one. His eyes flew up looking about Rose’s head and through the crowd at the walls. Rose was wrapping her arms around his neck and going to town at his mouth, but The Doctor was busy searching for the exit. He spotted something glimmering between the drapes. Something about that sparked his memory… the bubble! They were inside the bubble! 

His eyes drifted back closed as their mouths remained connected. He brought them both back to the upright position and pulled himself away from Rose. She looked utterly disappointed. The Doctor grabbed her hand firmly and began pulling her through the crowd and towards the wall where he had seen the glimmer. He picked up a chair as he passed a table on the way. Guests were starting to look at them now. 

“What are you doing?” Rose asked when The Doctor stopped sharply by the hanging drapes. He pulled one of them back to expose the smooth shimmering wall beneath. He looked back at her, his mouth turning into a cheeky smile. He raised the chair up. “NO! STOP!” She yelled throwing her hands up in a panicked gesture. They were both shocked. Everyone was looking at them now. Silent. Paused, waiting to act. Rose advanced quickly to The Doctor, hands shaking, pleading. She touched his arm with one hand, and his cheek with the other. “Don’t you want this?” She asked softly. His posture softened. She looked so sad, so desperate. “Please Doctor… don’t you want to stay with me? Like this…?” He stepped closer to her, she closed the gap between their bodies. Their faces so close they could feel each others breaths. His lips hovering over hers. “…Forever?” 

The Doctor pulled back. He looked around at the masked faces that watched them, waiting for him to make a decision. He felt his hand clench around the chair.

“I’m sorry.” He whispered. Her eyes began to gloss over as they looked back and forth between his eyes. “We just don’t have that kind of time.” He tore himself from her grip and whipped the chair hard into the smooth wall. It shattered like glass. The sound was deafening. 

The guests charged at him. They gripped at his jacket. His eyes met Rose’s as the hoard pushed around her to get to him. A single tear rolled down her face, her eyes wide and filled with disappointment and heartache. The ground gave way. He could feel himself falling. He reached out for Rose and grasped her hand desperately. The masked people flung into the air as if they’d been significantly lighter than them. Everything seemed to float away while they plummeted to the ground.


	4. Don't Kiss Me!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something stinks in this chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Perhaps I should give a warning that there is talk of mind control which deals with a violation of consent and the threat of limbs being pulled off- or the actual event of limbs being pulled off but in the fun way. You know what I mean. You saw the movie if you're this far.

The Doctor looked down and then looked up at Rose as they both seemed to be falling through a night sky. She was in her clothes again. Her eyes now seemed to be alert and wide with horror. She was back. The Doctor pulled her into him and wrapped his arms around her protectively, his hands shielding her head. Rose gripped her fingers tightly into his jumper and squeezed her eyes shut. The Doctor turned his body and braced for impact. They hit the ground hard. Both letting out a groan.

They were still for a few moments. The Doctor had landed on his back, Rose was on top of him. They stayed silent, just breathing. The Doctor stared up into the dark tree tops as he assessed his pain. They were in the forest now. He’d finally made it to the next level, he closed his eyes and smiled. So grateful to be out of the garden. 

Rose suddenly jerked to life. She jumped off of The Doctor like he had burned her skin. She crawled backwards and turned away from him, curling into herself at his feet. He lifted his body with slight discomfort and rested on his elbows. He watched her back quietly. They sat like that for several minutes. The wasted time felt like agony but necessary. 

“You alright?” The Doctor asked at last. “Quite the fall…” More silence. He looked around awkwardly. 

“I’m… so humiliated…” Rose spoke so quietly that it was almost inaudible. She didn’t turn around. The Doctor firmed his lips uncomfortably and cleared his throat. 

“Well… we’ve all done stupid stuff at parties.” The Doctor offered awkwardly with a weak laugh. He had no idea what he was supposed to say. Humans were so fragile. Normally he wouldn’t have spent another second worrying about it, but it was Rose. She scoffed and kicked her foot out a little to push some leaves around. 

“Are you going to be able to look at me…?” She asked. It made his brow furrow. The Doctor rolled to his side and propped his head up with his hand so he could see her better. 

“You’re the one that isn’t looking.” He pointed out. She tried to glance at him, he offered a smile, she looked down again. “Rose, it’s alright. Really.”

“Something took control of me, Doctor.” She spat. “It’s not going to be alright. They used me!” She could feel the sting of tears. “They played with me, made me do things, feel things.” The Doctor looked away uncomfortably. Guilt was beginning to creep up his spine. He shouldn’t have let her kiss him. He knew she hadn’t been in the right state of mind. She wasn’t herself. She probably never wanted to do those things to him, he would have realized that if he hadn’t been so focused on trying to escape.

“I’m sorry.” The Doctor said. He lifted himself to his feet and brushed himself off. She looked up at him shyly. 

“What are you sorry for? You didn’t do that to me.” They regarded each other quietly. Rose let out an angry sigh. “They need to be stopped, Doctor. They can’t do this to people.” He nodded in agreement and offered a hand to help her up. She took it and rose to her feet. She dusted her jeans off and clapped her hands together. “Anyway, I should say sorry to you.” The Doctor furrowed his brow. “I basically mauled you.” They began walking side by side. 

“Well, you wont hear my complaining.” He admitted with a friendly smile. Rose looked up sharply, a light blush on her lips. When she saw his smile she smiled back, and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. He held his hand out, as he often did when they travelled side by side. She took it without question. They would be just fine. 

——————

It was pitch black in whatever hole Jack had landed himself in. The fall had been rough and it knocked him unconscious for who knows how long. There was no telling how big the place was that he was in, but he assumed it wasn’t very based on the acoustics. Was he under ground, was he above ground, it was impossible to know. He sighed in frustration. 

“Guess that’s me, outta the game.” He said quietly to himself. Death didn’t need to be immediate to be certain. 

“Worse ways to go.” A voice replied. 

Jack nearly jumped out of his skin. Someone was in there with him. All this time, someone had been trapped in there. Was it a human from one of the previous runs? Had they not starved to death yet? He tried to look around the room but there was nothing but darkness. 

“Who’s there?” He asked in a confident voice. 

“Me.” A match lit and suddenly the space was flooded with light. They were in a small cave with rocks jutting out everywhere. Jack looked around to observe that there were no doors, just the hole he had fallen from, and it was a long way up. His eyes drifted along the walls, his body jumped of its own accord when he realized he had been sitting next to the corpse of some poor human. Likely died of starvation a few months ago. 

Jack backed away from the corpse, then looked to see who the other man in the room had been. He was standing next to a candle that he had just lit. He waved his match to put it out. The man was very short, short enough to stand at full height in that tiny room. His face was weathered, with large, almost cartoon-like features. He looked up at Jack with huge eyes, then over to the corpse. 

“Shame.” He said in a funny, gravelly voice. “One of so many…” Jack looked back at the horrible corpse, then back at the man.

“Who are you?” He asked. 

“Well, this character is called Hoggle. He was a main character in the original movie for which this whole wretched world is based.” The little man said. “-but my real name is Brian.” Jack quirked an eyebrow in confusion. “I’m part of a rebel group of hackers that has worked hard to infiltrate the labyrinth and free the contestants.” Jack leaned forward in interest. “Entering into one of the original characters is the safest way to get in. I can control this whole body from a remote location and assist you as if I were really there.”

“That’s great!” Jack exclaimed. “So you can help us get out?!” Hoggle, or Brian rather, shifted uncomfortably. 

“I can only actually get you out at this point.” He said, not meeting Jack’s eyes. 

“What?” Jack frowned.

“It’s really hard getting through here unnoticed.” Brian tried to explain as gently as he could. “At face value I look like I belong here, but once they notice I’m making moves and helping the contestants they’ll block me out. With everything being filmed for broadcast you can’t really hide.”

“So then how does this work right now?” Jack asked waving his hand between them casually. “Can’t they see you talking to me now?”

“No.” Brian shrugged. “You’re in the ‘Obliette’. It’s a place they put people to forget about them. The second you fell in here they essentially wrote you off as dead. Or rather, ‘loser’ for the audience benefit.” He shrugged and began to move around the room. “Not really exciting to film a person starve to death. Bit of a morale killer that.”

“So you can only save people when they fall in here, everyone else is doomed.” It was more of a statement than a question. “Some rebel group you got there.”

“Look- this isn’t easy.” Brian sighed. “We’re just doing our best.”

“Seems like your best isn’t good enough. What about this guy.” Jack said coolly as he crossed his arms and jutted his neck towards the corpse. “How come he’s still in here?" There was a long silence. Brian kicked a small pebble and it clinked off the rock wall. “You’ve never actually successfully rescued anyone, have you?” The silence continued as the smaller man inspected his large aged hands. “Do you at least know where my friends are? Are they still alive?” Brian looked back at him. 

“Oh, yes. They’re alive.” He nodded casually. “They’re together…” Jack let out a sigh of relief and a little breathy laugh. 

“Well at least that’s a bit of good news.” 

“Maybe not…” Brian said gravely. “They’re in the bubble. It’s designed to completely wipe away whatever memory they had left before entering it. They will forget who they are… they’re purpose here…” He paused and looked very seriously at Jack. “They can manipulate the way you think here. They can get inside your head and make you do things you wouldn’t normally do. They’ve been doing it since you walked through the main doors. That’s why you’re having trouble remembering how you got here or who you were before this.” Jack gulped visibly as he felt that familiar coldness of memory loss that he’d become a little too familiar with, though he couldn’t remember why. "This goes beyond just solving the maze or providing escapism for the rich and powerful viewers sitting in their condos. Whoever is in charge here plays with contestants as if they were dolls. They can make you look like a fool, or a jerk, or sex icon, it’s editors choice. They get a sadistic pleasure out of it.” Jack shivered. 

“I have to get to them.” He said quickly catching Brian off guard. 

“You can’t!” He waved his massive hands around stressfully. “There is no way to access the bubble unless the master wants you to. I can help you escape now- isn’t saving one life better than losing all three?”

“No.” Jack spat. “If it were the other way they’d come for me. I’m not a coward anymore, I either escape with them or I die trying.” Brian stared at Jack for a long time. Long enough for Jack to wonder if the program running the little man had frozen. Then his large features softened and he slouched his shoulders. 

“Okay.” Brian said at last. 

“Okay?” Jack repeated. The little man crossed the room and picked up a dirty old plank from the floor. 

“Look- I can’t help you solve this thing. I can’t promise that you’ll live if you try, or that you’ll find your friends… but I can get you out of this room and that’s a start.” Jack smiled. Brian dragged the plank over to an odd shaped depression in the rock wall. He lifted the plank up and held it over the spot as if trying to mount it there. It stayed. He opened one side as if it were a door. Several pots and pans tumbled out, Jack laughed in surprise. He crawled over to join the little man. “Happens every time- I don’t know why.” Brian closed the door and opened it from the other side, it led out into the underground maze. 

“Impressive.” Jack laughed. 

——————

The woods were horrible. It was too dark, and too foggy, and you could never truly tell if you were going in circles or not. The Doctor and Rose had been walking for what seemed like a hundred years, but it was more likely twenty minutes. 

“How could he show you things that haven’t happened yet?” Rose asked in response to The Doctor telling her all about the preview he had been shown. They had just swapped their strange encounters from their time apart. 

“This place doesn’t obey what you would consider a linear timeline.” The Doctor stated casually. “What makes me pause was his willingness to show me that preview… Was it just a mistake on his part?” The sound of a twig snapped distracted Rose from The Doctor’s continued ramblings. She looked around but saw nothing. 

“Well, didn’t you say he was laying the flattery on thick? Maybe he was trying to impress you.” Another sound made her turn and look around as The Doctor mulled over her suggestion. He was saying something but Rose was no longer interested. She started to notice movement in the trees. “Doctor…” She whispered without breaking her eyes from the dark shapes of the forest. He rambled on. More noises, more movement. Rose clutched The Doctor’s arm and squeezed it. “Doctor I don’t think we’re alone.” 

The Doctor stopped talking and swivelled his head to see what Rose was seeing. They stood still as the sounds began to come from all around them. They naturally went back to back, Rose preparing to defend herself from an attacker, The Doctor standing still and alert. 

“Who’s out there?” Rose asked. “And… is that… music?” Her eyes widened with realization. 

“Just a couple wild cats looking for a wild time!” A shrill voice called out from the bushes. Then they started to appear, the orange monsters that Jack had warned Rose about before.

“We’re pretty boring people actually,” The Doctor shrugged. “Just passing through.” 

“I don’t think they care, Doctor.” Rose whispered harshly. The creatures started coming closer. Laughing, singing, and rolling their eyes around in their heads like billiard balls. “Jack warned me about these guys, we need to get out of here. Now!” It was already too late, they were completely surrounded. 

“Wanna see something wild?” One of the orange beasts asked. It didn’t wait for an answer, it just pulled off its fingers and stuck them to it’s face one at a time. 

“That’s not wild!” Another said. “This is wild!” It pulled its head clean off, and dribbled it like a basketball. 

“That’s not wild!” Said another who had combined with a different orange creature to create a large mass of arms and legs that looked both fascinating and grotesque. Rose threw a hand swiftly to her mouth to prevent herself from gagging. The Doctor looked on in awe. Two wild things suddenly came up onto Rose fast and started tugging at her head. 

“It won’t come off!” The one said. 

“Of course it doesn’t!” Rose wheezed as she tried to push them off of her. They just tugged harder, making it very difficult to breath. The Doctor spun around and began pulling one of the creatures away. A wild thing jumped on his back and tugged hard on both his ears. 

“Don’t you want to look like us?” One of them said as it started to pull at Rose’s leg. The Doctor bent forward swiftly causing the wild thing on his back to lose balance. When it fell in front of him he ripped its arms off and tossed them aside. The wild thing hissed and began snapping its beaklike mouth at him. The Doctor kicked it hard into the bushes. 

Rose was screaming. Several wild things were pulling on her different limbs. The Doctor bolted forward and grabbed a head, tossing it deep into the woods. Then he kicked another, and ripped its hands off. Rose, gaining access to her arm again started punching the wild thing that had been tugging at her head. When that didn’t provide useful she desperately clawed at its eyes. They popped out easily causing the wild thing to become disoriented. She fell to the ground hard. The Doctor was now on the last one. His fist connected so hard with its face that the head blew clear off the body. The headless creature lunged at him but he dodged to the side and pulled both its arms behind its back till they popped off. 

The eyeless wild thing crawled on the ground in search of his eyeballs. Rose, who had been clutching her bruised neck tenderly, spotted the eyeballs next to her in the dirt. She reached over, grabbed them and tossed them into the bushes. 

“Now that’s wild.” The Doctor laughed as he watched the wild things fumble around for their different parts. Rose groaned and jumped to her feet. She never understood how he could laugh in moments like that. The things they’d just witnessed would likely haunt her nightmares for life. 

“Come on!” She croaked, clutching at her throat. She grabbed The Doctor by the hand and started running through the woods. The wild things were already starting to piece themselves together. 

“Stop them!” The one without eyes cried out. “eye for an eye!” 

The couple bolted through the darkness of the forest. They jumped over debris and ducked under limbs. All the while the wild things called out to them, they were starting to chase after them. Rose caught her foot on a tree root and tipped forward. The Doctor held her steady with the hand he was still holding and encouraged her to keep moving. The shrill creatures had gained a lot of ground and were shouting as they drew closer. 

Then suddenly a wall appeared in the fog. A great, vine covered wall that stretched high above their heads. They stopped, heavy breaths the only thing they could emit as they stared up. The voices drew ever nearer. The Doctor swung himself around to survey their immediate surrounding, searching for anything that might be some use. His eyes landed on a large tree that’s branches might be high enough to get them over the wall. 

“Come on.” He said as he ran to the tree and sprang onto its lowest hanging branch. Rose followed obediently and copied his moves as he climbed up the tree like a feral cat. She could see where his brain was headed, but the wall still seemed much too high for them. The Doctor steadied himself on the highest possible branch next to the wall. It was sturdy enough for both of them, so he leaned forward and pulled Rose up. 

Looking down they could see the wild things emerge from the bushes. They looked around, stalking about like predators looking for prey. They didn’t seem to realize that the couple was above them. The Doctor and Rose watched silently, their backs pressed securely against the wall. 

“Where’d they go?” One of the wild things said at last. 

“Hiding.” Another stated. 

“I love games!” Said another. “When we find you, we get to keep your heads!” He shouted. “What? I like options.” He said to another who had been looking at him silently. The Doctor shook his head and began studying their new setting. The top of the wall was only a few feet away, not enough for him to reach… but just maybe… 

“You’re going to have to climb onto me.” The Doctor whispered, still looking up. 

“What?” Rose asked, tearing her eyes from the creatures that looked about feverishly for them. 

“Come on, just climb onto me and I should be able to boost you up.” He motioned with his hands for her to get on with it and then crouched down.

“You’re mad.” She let out a little laugh, but it was more for stress than humour. There was no way he’d be able to lift her. 

“Just climb on.” The Doctor was getting impatient. Rose looked down anxiously, they were awfully high up and the branch wasn’t really thick enough for playing around. If The Doctor lost his balance by trying to lift her the fall would surely kill them. She couldn’t refuse him though, he was already crouched and getting saucy. She took a deep breath and stepped over his shoulders carefully and sat gently at the base of his neck. She felt stupid. 

The Doctor then gripped her thighs tightly with his hands and slowly raised himself to his full height. Rose was terrified. The gripped the wall desperately for support. If he had any struggle lifting her his pride wasn’t letting him show it. The top of the wall was just above Rose’s head now, she reached up and attempted to gain a strong grip for which to pull herself up. 

“Hey!” One of the Wild Things said. “There they are!” The other wild things began to crowd him to look up at Rose and The Doctor. 

“Any time now.” The Doctor groaned impatiently. Rose rolled her eyes and began to pull herself up carefully. She cursed herself for not working on her upper body strength. The Doctor shifted his hands to her rear as he pushed up. 

“Watch them hands.” Rose barely groaned as she got her elbows over the wall. 

“Less talking, more pulling.” He bit back. The wild things were now tossing their heads up into the air and flapping their ears like wings. 

“Come back!” One said before falling back down. 

“We have so many games to play!” Said another. 

“We’re cutting the chips out of your diet.” The Doctor teased as he gave Rose one final shove. She fell over the top of the wall with an awkward ‘oof’. He turned his head up and waited for her to poke hers over the side. He silently hoped that the wall actually had some kind of top to it and Rose hadn’t just toppled over to her death. 

“You really want to talk about my weight when you’re expecting me to save your life?” Rose asked, poking her head over the side and reaching down to him. He breathed a sigh of relief. They clasped onto each other’s arms and The Doctor attempted to climb the stone with his boots. Rose dug her heels into her side of the wall and pulled with all her strength. “Talk about my weight…” She spoke through gritted teeth. She was able to get The Doctor up enough for him to pull himself the rest of the way. He swung his leg over and rolled himself the rest of the way. 

They could barely hear the heads after that. They faded into obscurity. Rose and The Doctor sat in silence, panting like a couple of dogs in the sun. The Doctor remained on his face, the way he had fallen when he rolled over. Rose was on her back, collapsed from the strain. She started to laugh. 

“We should both really start working out.” The Doctor turned his face to look at her, and then pushed his hands into the stone to raise himself up. 

“I’m in excellent shape.” He boasted. “I was lifting you no problem. You lifting me, however…” He gave the ground a little side eye as he sat with his back to the wall. Rose scoffed. 

“Yeah well, you didn’t have much to lift- I did!” She crawled over and sat herself next to him. They both smiled. 

“Well, thanks all the same.” He said patting her knee with a grin. He brought his eyes to her face to admire her smile, but was then distracted by the bruising around her neck. Rose’s breath caught as The Doctor leaned in and gently touched a hand to the bruising. It was already a dark purple. “That’s a nasty one.” He commented softly. He looked up to meet her eyes and realized his closeness. Rose was blushing, her eyes were wide and observant. The Doctor dropped his hand and cleared his throat. Rose shifted a little. They were quiet for a while. A few birds chirped in the back ground. 

“Did you know what was going on the whole time… up there?” Rose shot her eyes up to the sky as she thought about the bubble they’d been trapped in. The Doctor shifted a little and rested his arms onto his knees. 

“For the first bit, I was like you. Total trans-like state… but my brain is a lot more powerful than a humans. I was able to fight it off and wake up.” Rose nodded her head. He looked down at her thoughtfully. 

“Did…” She paused for a second as she considered her question. “Did you… uh…” She shifted her feet a little and hunched her shoulders in as she brought her arms to rest on her knees. “Was it alright?” The Doctor blinked. “Like… did you like it, I mean…” She didn’t look at him. She already regretted asking. He stared for a few seconds, then a wide grin spread on his face. 

“What, your kissing prowess?” Rose sunk her head a little into her arms. He gave a laugh. “You were fantastic.” He beamed. “I’ve never been kissed with quite such…” He paused and she raised her head to look at him. “-suction.” He laughed. Rose rolled her eyes and shoved him hard with her elbow. “No I mean it! I may write about that one in my journal.” He said innocently. 

“You have a journal?” She questioned. Now giving her signature tongue in tooth grin. 

“Naw,” He laughed and shook his head. “-but I’d start one if I had more content like that to put in it.” Rose laughed. They looked at each other with big stupid smiles. 

“Do you…” Rose began, her cheeks starting to grow hot again. “…maybe want to try again? Not in a bubble?…” She shrugged her shoulders. “Could be a different experience.”

“Rose, we just escaped being beheaded, we have to solve this nightmare maze in under three hours, and you want to take a break for kissing?” She felt really stupid. She looked away and cleared her throat. 

“Right.” She said quickly. “Yeah, sorry, my heads still a little… groggy.” She shrugged. “Whatever they did to me must still be wearing off.” She shook her hand through her hair anxiously and let it fall all around her face. Then settled her back into the stone and sighed. The Doctor just smiled. He leaned back into the wall as well. 

They were silent again for a few seconds. Rose was internally kicking herself. She had been so embarrassed over how she’d acted in the bubble when that hadn’t even been her. Then she attempted to relive it now, with no excuse and no one to blame for her actions. She had to shake her head. If only she hadn’t remembered what it had been like to kiss The Doctor. She had a taste and she craved more. It was humiliating.

The Doctor gave her shoe a little kick with his boot. Rose lifted her head to look, and then turned to face The Doctor. He was smiling. A goofy closed mouth smile that touched her heart. She smiled back, it was a reflex. He took her hand in his own and gave it a reassuring squeeze, then made to stand up. She watched as he dusted himself off, and then extend a hand to her. She took it, and he pulled her up swiftly. Rose lost her balance and crashed into his chest. 

“Sorry.” She muttered and pushed herself off of him. The Doctor still held her hand in his own, he eyed it carefully for a moment as if he was considering something very important. Then he brought it to his lips and gave it a very delicate kiss. Rose blushed. 

“What’s that for?” She asked pulling her hand out of his slowly. He shrugged slightly and stepped closer to her. 

“What’s a minute or two?” He asked as he raised a hand and tilted Rose’s head up so her lips could meet his. Her heart burst. She fell into him. His hand was cradled in her neck, his other hand made its way around her hip. Rose brought her own hands forward to hold onto his sides under his leather jacket. If she could have, she would have disappeared inside that old jacket. She moaned into his kiss, into his sweet caress. His lips broke into a smile beneath hers, and then he pulled away. 

Rose blinked a few times as if she had just woken from a dream. She suddenly felt cold and with a need to fill the emptiness that she was feeling. His kiss had put stars into her eyes and fire in her soul. The Doctor had stepped back and rubbed his thumb lightly over his lips, he couldn’t stop himself from smiling. Rose just stared at him. 

“Wow…” She said dreamily as she reached up to sort out her hair. She seemed more dazed than she had before. “Definitely going into my journal.” She said with a smirk and The Doctor laughed. 

Suddenly the floor opened up beneath them, Rose squealed as she felt her body go weightless for a second. They dropped like sacks of potatoes into the darkness. A sort of slide had caught them and directed them down into the wall. They moved rapidly through the darkness, bit’s of leaves and dirt flying as they whizzed past. Then there was light. A light that was coming way too fast. Rose grabbed onto The Doctor’s leg and wrapped herself around it, The Doctor looked for something to slow them down. 

They shot out of the darkness like a rocket. The Doctor quickly spotted a piece of rebar that had been sticking out and grabbed onto it. He flung forward but came to a halt, Rose was still attached to his leg. He looked down at her and she looked back up, then they both looked around.

“Oh my Gosh!” Rose exclaimed. “That SMELL!” She buried her face into the thigh of The Doctor pant leg in desperation. The Doctor wrinkled his nose, it looked as if they were in some kind of sewage swamp. The smell was horrific, but he couldn’t place it. Something like rotting corpse, moldy food and every kind of manure possible all in one stench. 

“Something tells me, you fall in that stuff, a wash won’t get it out.” He spotted a dry patch just to the right of them. “Rose, I’m going to swing you. Use the momentum to propel you to that dry patch over there. 

“Kay.” The Doctor began to swinging himself side to side until he was able to get a good rhythm going. Rose licked her lips and prepared to make the jump. Another swing. Another… then… jump! She landed on the dry dirty ground with zero tact. She quickly covered her nose. The Doctor swung forward and thrusted himself to where she was. He landed on his feet next to her in a very showy fashion. 

“Bet you wish you were a Barcelonian dog.” He grinned and held a hand out to help her up. 

“What does that mean?” The Doctor didn’t get a chance to answer. Something in the distance caught his eye.

“Look! A bridge!” He began running toward it. Rose rolled her eyes and followed. 

“Nine hundred, has the attention span of a nine year old.” She sighed.


	5. None May Pass!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack talks, Rose walks and The Doctor is getting more annoyed by the minute.

The sun was shining bright in the hedge maze. It was quiet, it was calm, and there were no strange odours to speak of. Jack had found himself back above the ground, and back in the hedge maze, with his new travelling companion, Brian. Or Hoggle. The two had made quick work escaping the Obliette and getting as far as they had. Brian seemed to know exactly what he was doing despite everything constantly changing around them.

The small man walked with determination and confidence. When there was a noise, he knew where to go next, when the path changed, he was unfazed. Jack wondered who the man sitting behind a computer screen at home was, and of course, was he hot? 

“So… how does this all work? How do they usually get the contestants for this thing?” Jack asked curiously. Brian looked up at him with a quirked brow. “Sorry, I’m not actually from the colony. We sort of stumbled into this without knowing anything about it. Tourists.”

“Yeah, we sort of figured that when we were watching your run.” Brian tutted. “It’s shameful, people can’t even visit the colony without putting their lives in danger… Are you from Earth then?” 

“Sort of.” Jack responded with a shrug. 

“Disgusting.” Brian spat. “Not only did they leave you there to clean up the mess, but then you get a chance to come to the colony and they immediately make you runners.” He shook his head. “Mind you, I can’t imagine life here is much nicer than life down there… unless you have money of course.” A silence fell between them as they passed through a conspicuous court yard. No one seemed to be anywhere, it was as if the maze was on auto pilot and didn’t really care about them. 

“So… What brought you to the rebellion?” Jack asked. Brian didn’t answer for a while.

“My sister was one of the first runners.” He admitted at last. “It was early days. We were all so naive… I’m ashamed to admit that we were sort of excited when this started. No one knew back then that we were sending our loved ones to their deaths so we were excited for her, we thought she’d been lucky to be picked. You get blinded by the nostalgia and the concept… Who wouldn’t want to be Sarah?” Jack nodded but he had no idea what that meant. “It was advertised as a sort of holiday. Live the fantasy, you know?”

“Did your sister…?”

“No.” Brian cut him off. “She didn’t make it to the end…” He was quiet for a moment. “I remember it like it was yesterday. The run is aired sort of like they did back in the days of sports broadcasting if you can remember?” Jack nodded. “For the rich, they get to watch from the comforts of their homes. For the poor, well, let’s just say we didn’t even know it was being televised.” Brian explained with a disgruntled tone. “It wasn’t until Lenore hadn’t come home for a few weeks that we started to worry. We put in an inquiry but they completely dismissed us. They don’t care at all for the lower class. Our sector is basically a lawless urban wasteland. People are always killing each other or stealing from each other.” Brian cleared his throat as if trying to control his emotional response to the subject. “Asking around, we discovered lots of people were experiencing the same thing. Then we figured it out… the service industry workers, maids and butlers to the rich and powerful, they let the cat out of the bag. Everything sort of came together after that.”

“I’m so sorry…” Jack reached a hand out and rested it on Brian’s shoulder. 

“I started looking into it after that.” Brian continued. “On the outside my nine to five is a programming job… gave me the skills to sort out how to hack into this place. It’s all run by computers, you see.” He turned to look up at Jack. “When I learned about the rebel group that had been working to get in I immediately offered my services. They had all lost family. We banned together and were able to invent the technology that has enabled us the ability to physically pull people out. The goal was to save as many lives as we could until we figured out how to take down the system.” He looked back down at the ground. “So far, no luck. We haven’t had a successful extraction yet… All I can do is offer assistance to try to help them last longer.” He looked ashamed. Jack regretted criticizing him early. 

“Look- I didn’t mean that back there. You guys are doing something no one had the guts to do.” He tried to back pedal but the damage was done. 

“Naw, you were right.” Brian sighed. “This is only a bandaid solution. We need to end this. There can’t be any more people dying in here. Every day is another life wasted.”

“Is there no one else looking into this? Like at a bigger level? Police? Government?” 

“Those concepts don’t really exist here in the colony like they did on Earth.” Brian shrugged. “It’s just NASA. They control everything. We weren’t meant to be here this long so there wasn’t a lot of infrastructure set up. A little population control would suit them just fine, especially when it’s just the squaller.” 

“How do they get the contestants now?” Jack asked suddenly. “Surely no one is volunteering anymore?” 

“Kidnapped usually.” Brian answered. “They’re getting more and more creative though. Just last week we intercepted a signal boosting out into space of all places! As if they were hoping some poor unsuspecting aliens would come.” Brian shook his head and scoffed. “I guess poor people were getting a little boring.” Something in his words seemed to spark a memory in Jack’s brain. A signal… there was something important about a signal. He shut his eyes tight and tried to focus. They were responding to a signal! That was the whole reason they had come in the first place!

“They lured us in.” Jack breathed. “It was a trap and it worked on us.” Brian jerked his head up to look at Jack with an inquisitive brow.

“What’s that now?” He asked. Jack blinked a few times before bringing his attention back down to Brians avatar. 

“That’s how we got here, I remember now!” 

“But, I thought you-?”

“No, no- Well, yes and no.” Brian looked up at Jack as if he’d gone completely wrong. “You see, we’re just travellers. We didn’t come from Earth such as it is now, we were just sorta bopping along when we picked up the signal, and of course, we’ve never been the type to shy away from those in need.” Jack groaned and reached for the bridge of his nose. “And of course, The Doctor suspected it could be a trap but he wanted to come and see anyway. We’re all jeopardy friendly on this crew.

“That’s incredible.” Brian gasped. “You are the first outsiders to run the mazes… The master must be completely overjoyed with that.” Jack rolled his eyes, that figured. “Human’s have actually never seen aliens before. It’s going to be a thrilling thing, history made. Only…”

“Oh what a disappointment, you got a bunch of time travellers instead.” 

“Time travellers? Really?” Brian’s eyes lit up. “We master time travel?” 

“Well… technically I guess, yeah. But it’s all sort of ripped off from the original masters of time.” Jack didn’t feel like going into detail.

“Why do you travel in time?” He asked instead. The answer caught Jack off guard. 

“Well… For fun I guess? It’s The Doctor’s choice really. He likes to play tourist but he also can’t help himself, he needs to help people… to fix broken things.” A little smile graced Jack’s lips. “He’s a real bleeding heart… has a rough past I guess. Rose and I are just along for the ride.” 

“Hmm.” Brian hummed as he thought softly. 

“Anyway, you mentioned a master a couple of times- who is that?” The Hoggle character shrugged which seemed to make his whole body bounce as he walked. 

“No idea- that’s just the title that keeps coming up in the code. He’s the one that runs the whole labyrinth.” He said. 

“Just one guy?” 

“Yeah.” Brian nodded. “Until your run, we’ve never caught a glimpse of him before but… That Pig-man is completely new to this world. That must be him!”

“Oh, yeah… I forgot about that ugly porker…” Jack frowned. “Right, well, first we’ve got to get to The Doctor and Rose. Then we find the Pig-man and end this thing. The Doctor will know what to do, I promise we’ll make it right.” 

That was when they rounded the corner and were presented with a large door. The exit from the hedge maze. A much easier setup than the two door tricky business Jack had faced before. They both grabbed at the large handle and pulled the heavy door back slowly. The woods revealed itself to them. 

“Hang on guys, we’re almost there.” Jack muttered as he stepped into the dark forest. 

——————

Rose had caught up to The Doctor as he approached the rickety old bridge that had previously caught his attention. It looked as if it would fall apart the second someone touched a toe to it. She shuddered to think what falling into that horrible swamp water would do. They made their way up a slight incline and paused as they assessed the integrity of the bridge. 

“HALT!” A voice called from somewhere unseen. The Doctor and Rose looked around swiftly, but nothing had appeared. 

“We weren’t moving.” The Doctor pointed out as he squinted at the large dead tree next to him. Something inside the tree stirred. The couple leaned forward towards the tree, but whatever had been inside decided to spring out suddenly. 

“Aha!” A creature that looked like something between a fox and a squirrel dressed like a medieval minstrel with an eyepatch had burst from the belly of the old tree and landed confidently before The Doctor’s feet.

“What is that?” Rose asked. Both her and The Doctor stared down at the tiny beast that swung his sword around threateningly.

“Hold!” He cried. “None may pass without MY permission!” The tiny animal bared his teeth and growled. Rose and The Doctor exchanged looks. 

“May we have your permission?” The Doctor asked. The animal thought for a moment. His growling subsided for the moment. Clearly it had not occurred to him that it could be that easy.

“No.” He said abruptly before growling again. He pointed his sword up at them. “I don’t quite like the look of you scoundrels. If you will not back down, it shall be a fight to the death!” Rose frowned and crossed her arms, The Doctor rolled his eyes. 

“I don’t have time for this.” The Doctor groaned. He drew his foot back and swung it forward with great force. He booted the little fox creature right off its feet and deep into the woods. It wailed the whole way. The Doctor then ran for the bridge. 

“Was that really necessary?” Rose asked, running after him.

“Well, he said no.” The Doctor defended. “We don’t have much time left… he’ll be fine.” He stepped onto the bridge and tested its strength. It seemed okay, so he grabbed Rose by the hand and bolted across. The bridge began to give as they approached the end, The Doctor made a jump for it, Rose following. They landed on the side just as the bridge collapsed into the water. “Come on!” The Doctor said, breaking Rose from her long stare at the bridge. She could have been in that water. 

They ran up a steep incline, still covered in trees and brush. They had to use branches for support or leverage for some of the climb. The trees were thinning out the higher they climbed, and once they had reached the top there were no trees left. Perhaps they made it out of the forest at last… 

“That’s more like it!” Said The Doctor. He was standing on top of the hill, he beamed back at Rose who was still struggling to get up. Once she had made it she could see he was pointing at the castle, surrounded by the goblin City. It was only a short trip away. Rose let out a sigh of relief. It was almost over. 

Her eyes travelled down. Just at the foot of the hill was a massive junkyard. Some kind of dump filled with items and debris. Everything was rusted, filthy and completely forgotten by time. They would have to navigate their way through it to get to the gates. Rose groaned at that idea. 

The Doctor began to trot down the hill. His eagerness evident. He never liked to stay anywhere long, but the labyrinth had proven to be exhausting on all fronts. It was time to find the pig in charge and end the madness. Rose was eager to reach the end as well, only the days activities were starting to take their toll. It had been over ten hours of running, climbing, falling… her body hadn’t eaten or drank anything in that time. It was only natural that she would start to get sluggish. She all but rolled down the hill after The Doctor. 

“Alright, stay close.” The Doctor whispered as they entered into the towering piles of trash via a thin path. Who knows what sort of creatures were rummaging around under the surface. There were so many objects piled up around them. Chairs, pottery, spinning wheels, whicker baskets… it somehow managed to look whimsical in this strange place. Rose let her eyes travel over all the curious objects as they walked carefully through the clutter. The creatures of the labyrinth were somehow of another time, she mused as she let her hand glide over a dusty spinning wheel. 

Then, within all the clutter, something foreign caught her eye. She quickly looked at The Doctor who was slowly making his way forward. His worn leather Jacket looked quite at home with the colour palette of the junk yard. Rose looked back at the object and made a snap decision to investigate. She climbed onto the nearby pile and reached her hand forward… she grasped a small stuffed bear. 

It wasn’t just any bear. She rolled it around in her hands to inspect it carefully. It was cleaner than anything in the junk yard. It wasn’t meant to be there. 

“This is mine…” Rose whispered softly. The Doctor was getting further and further away, not realizing his companion had gotten distracted. Rose didn’t notice. The bear had been a gift from her father before he died. A treasured favourite of baby Rose. She stared at it with glossy eyes, then pulled it tight to her chest.

A little further on she noticed another piece of junk that didn’t belong. A shiny red bicycle. Rose clutched her bear and eagerly climbed over the junk to reach the bike. The tag was still on it… Father Christmas had brought her that bike when she was twelve. It had been a truly magical Christmas. They still had that bike in storage, even though her mother was keen on selling it. Or so she thought… how did it get here? Rose ran her hand along the smooth handle bars and smiled sweetly. 

A sort of whispering filled the air. Perhaps just the wind. It made Rose shiver. She lifted her eyes from the bike to find a door, nestled in the junk, just a few feet away. She blinked hard. It was still there… It looked exactly like her bedroom door at the Estates. She stepped forward as if pulled by an invisible string. Her eyes wide, unblinking, as she reached deftly for the handle. 

The door swung open, and Rose stepped inside. It was her room. She walked silently to her bed and crawled under the sheets without a second thought. It was warm under there, like a welcome home hug. She sighed. Her eyes drifted closed slowly.


	6. Who Goes?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More mind games and the final stretch! Or, is it?

Rose awoke with a jolt, warm in her bed. She blinked several times before pulling the comforter off and stretching.

“What a strange dream!” She said to no one in particular. She rubbed her eye harshly with the heel of her palm. “Guess I better get ready for work.” She groaned as she climbed out of bed. Her dresser was a little cluttered, as it had always been. Everything exactly as she had left it. She picked up her brush and began running it through her hair as she looked in the mirror. 

“Such a pretty face, go on- make yourself up.” A voice whispered. Rose didn’t seem to notice. She reached for her makeup that had been scattered in front of the mirror. She picked up her mascara and brought it to her face. 

“Oh, hang on.” She muttered as she stared at herself in realization. “I’ve still got last night’s makeup on.” She sighed and put the mascara down then reached for a small tub of petroleum jelly to remove the makeup. Once she had a clean canvas she began to re-apply her usual face. Her eyes suddenly fell onto a key that had been sitting loosely next to her hand. She stared at it for a second, it stirred feelings of familiarity that she couldn’t understand. She reached for the key. “Don’t go running off…” She whispered. 

“Look what’s here, a photo album.” The strange voice whispered again, it pulled her attention from the key automatically. She turned her head to see the photo album sitting open on the bed. It wasn’t there before, but Rose didn’t seem to notice. She sat down on the edge of the bed and flipped through it. Pictures of her mother, her best mate Shareen and Mickey were littered through the pages. She smiled at some of them, laughed at others. “That’s right,” The voice cooed. “So many beautiful memories. Normal memories.” Rose turned the page to reveal a picture of her and Mickey kissing and it suddenly made her stomach feel uncomfortable. She furrowed her brow as she attempted to understand it. Was that guilt? Why was she feeling guilty? She looked up as she thought. Her brain buzzing with questions.

A little crinkled piece of paper that had been balled up on the floor caught her attention. She slowly moved the album to the side and leaned forward to grab the paper. Once unraveled it revealed a name and number. 

“Clive?” Rose whispered. 

“Never mind that, deary.” The voice whispered. “Look at this.” Rose felt her attention pull to a small music box on her dresser. It was a small dancer twirling around to soft music. She hadn’t turned it on… in fact that wasn’t familiar to her at all. On the music box was a tiny figurine with blonde hair in a very poofy shimmering ball gown. Her brow furrowed with an intensity. She jumped to her feet. 

“What is this?!” She called out. 

“Relax my dear, listen to the soft melody.” The music suddenly reminded Rose of the song that played in her head while she was trapped inside the bubble. She jerked forward and grabbed the music box and whipped it with all her might into the mirror.

“Where is The Doctor?!” Rose yelled at the top of her lungs. She stepped across the room and pulled the dresser from the wall. It crashed down spreading all her belongings on the floor. “I will NOT be manipulated again!” Her temper was flaring. She whirled around to grab something else to throw when she suddenly spotted an old woman. She was hunched over from the weight of all the garbage she was carrying on her back. She looked frightened. 

“It’s alright, Dear. Let’s just calm down.” It was the voice that had been whispering to her. It now sounded shaky. Rose groaned in irritation. 

“How do I get out of here?” Rose yelled. The woman cowered before her, but remained silent. She was only meant to keep Rose busy, trapped in that room until the time ran out. Rose wasn’t having it. She grabbed a lamp and tossed it hard to the ground before the woman’s feet. 

Suddenly, a load crash emerged from the ceiling. Rose and the old woman looked up. A black boot came crashed through the panelling knocking debris everywhere. Rose coughed and waved her hand. The boot retracted and a hand popped through in its place. 

“Doctor!” Rose exclaimed as she climbed onto her fallen dresser to grab him. 

“What is the most important rule?” The Doctor asked grumpily as he hauled her up through the trash. He grabbed onto her sides with both hands once he was able and pulled her harshly from the tight hole. Once free Rose hugged him tightly around his neck. 

“If I never wandered off you wouldn’t be able to rescue me.” Rose laughed into his ear, still gripping him tightly. 

“Come on.” The Doctor was slightly annoyed. “We’ve lost a lot of time.” Rose released him and the two ran down the junk pile as gracefully as they could. 

Just ahead, the gates to the goblin city called to them. The large outer wall protecting the city inside, appeared to only have one small door as an entrance. The Doctor charged forward, apparently un-phased by the soldier standing in front of it. The closer they got, the more apparent it became that the soldier was asleep, snoring in fact. 

The Doctor looked back at Rose, then back at the guard, and then back at Rose, he gave her a sign to keep her eyes peeled. He pushed the door open as quietly as he could, and then the two slipped inside. Another, much larger door was inside. Its massive doors were opened in an inviting, but suspicious, manner. They took a few quiet steps forward. 

The goblin city looked a lot more like a medieval village. The houses were small like children’s play houses. Several chickens were wondering about quietly. It may or may not have been morning, as The Doctor pointed out, time didn’t really work right there. Still, the quietness of the supposed city was unsettling. 

A swift clank alerted The Doctor and Rose that the door they had just snuck into had closed. They both whipped around to look at it. Did the guard wake up? Had a draft pushed it? More clanking began all around them, tearing them from their questions. The large doors were closing!

“Who goes?” A strange booming voice rang out. Stunned, The Doctor and Rose looked about for the source of the voice. “Who goes?” It repeated, this time it was loud and rattled their ear drums. 

“Doctor!” Rose shouted as the doors were moments from meeting in the middle. Her finger, however, was not pointed at the shrinking gap, but rather the massive armoured beast seemingly carved into the doors. Half of the greater was on one door, and the other half on the other. The doors clanged together and the two halves were joined. The armoured creature opened its eyes and began rolling them around. 

“Who goes?” The voice was coming from the creature, evidently, that was the real guard. The Doctor and Rose took a few steps back as the beast pulled itself from the door and took a step forward. Several razored spikes burst from the ground and halted Rose and The Doctor from backing up any further. 

“Great.” Rose grumbled as she eyed the spike metal. 

“It’s Fantastic!” The Doctor grinned looking up at the creature who had just bent over to pick up a massive battle axe that had gone unnoticed. Rose gave him a sharp look and his smile quickly disappeared into a mock frown. “I mean, it would be if we weren’t about to die.”

“Who goes?” The beast asked again. It swung its axe slowly over their ducked heads. His size made him ridiculously slow. 

“Is it going to keep asking that?” Rose asked, irritation evident in her voice. The great beast twisted its body and pulled the axe up to strike down at them. They split up with ease and the axe smashed into the ground. “Right, well, as much fun as this is- I’m not sticking around here with this one.” She charged forward at the large metal foot and began climbing up the creatures leg. The creature pulled its arms back to take a swing at The Doctor, but unintentionally knocked its elbow hard into Rose. She fell to the ground with a thud. 

“Rose!” The Doctor took a quick step forward, but had to jump back at the swing of the axe. Rose lifted herself slowly and clasped her head with her hand. 

“bit embarrassing, that.” She muttered. The axe swung her way and she quickly rolled along the dirt to escape. The blade struck ground once again. 

“Hey guys!” A familiar voice called from somewhere unseen. “Need a hand?”

“Jack!” Rose exclaimed. Her smile wide and full of relief. Jack was up on the wall, above the sealed door. His hands were proudly on his hips as he gave his classic sparkling smile. Next to him was a little dwarf in a vest. Rose quirked a brow at the site of him, there would be a lot of questions later. She looked over at The Doctor who was dodging another blow. “Look, Doctor! It’s Captain Jack! He’s come to rescue us again!”

“Not a Captain.” The Doctor grumbled as he dropped to the ground to evade the back swing. Rose smiled, she couldn’t help herself. She loved seeing The Doctor envious. 

“Don’t worry, Doctor.” Jack grinned. “I’ll still save you.” He jumped forward off of the wall and impressively landed on the large head of the armoured creature. It didn’t seem to notice his presence as he took another swing at Rose. Rose crawled forward through the dirt to where The Doctor was crouched, waiting to make his next defensive move. 

Jack reached his hands around the base of the head. He grunted as he stretched himself around to locate the latch. Once he found it, he made a breathy laugh of success and wrenched it open. The head came popping off, as if it weighed nothing. Like a little scrap of tin. It crashed to the ground with a massive thud. Rose and The Doctor flinched slightly. 

Inside the head was a tiny man. He looked around frantically when the head was removed, when he saw Jack towering over him he squealed. The axe froze mid swing as Jack ripped the tiny man from his seat. The poor bugger whimpered and begged. 

“Not very nice.” Jack scolded. He lifted the tiny man to meet his face. “How do I put down the axe?” With a shakey hand, the tiny man pointed to a lever. Jack leaned forward and pulled it, the axe fell the ground with a terrible sound. “Thank you.” Jack smiled. He began climbing down the back of the creature, and released the tiny man once on firm ground. The man scattered off into a small hole in the wall. 

“Where have you been?!” Rose squealed as she jumped on Jack with a great big hug. The Doctor looked awkwardly away to attempt to appear un-phased. 

“Ugh, you do not want to know.” Jack rolled his eyes and smiled. He gave Rose a tight squeeze before releasing her, then he ran at The Doctor. He jumped on him with the same glee that Rose had shown him seconds before, Rose smirked. The Doctor groaned at the weight. “And where were you?” Jack asked jokingly. The Doctor tossed him off. 

“Trying to solve this thing, if you hadn’t noticed.” Jack and Rose made eye contact and tried to hide a laugh. It was just in their wiring to try and stir the Time Lord up. 

Suddenly, Brian had burst into the group. Rose jumped a little, forgetting the man had ever existed. He must have scaled down the wall somehow, or knew of a safer way down than just jumping onto a massive metal beast. He pulled hard at Jack’s pant leg to get his attention.

“Listen, there isn’t much time!” They all looked down at him. 

“This is Brian, he’s part of a rebel group that can hack into the labyrinth using original characters as disguises. He helped me track you guys down.” Jack explained to the other two. “Well, we’re all together now. Can you extract us all out?” Jack asked, he crouched down to be at eye level with his new companion. 

“You know the way out?” Rose asked excitedly. She stood next to Jack and craned her head down, her wide eyes studied the little man. 

“Well…” Brian blushed. It was a weird look on him. Jack looked up at The Doctor who had on a thoughtful face. His hand resting over his closed mouth. “Yes, I could do… but… you’re very close to the castle. No one has ever solved it before!” 

“Well we aren’t exactly in it for the glory!” Rose said. “We just want to get out with our lives, thanks.”

“Look, all I mean is that if you can get in the castle, maybe you can end this thing… Our research indicates that is head office of the whole infrastructure, if you get in there you’re likely to have a face off with the master!” The Doctor flinched at that. “Besides, they seem to be absolutely fascinated by him.” He gestured towards The Doctor but didn’t meet his eyes. Both Rose and Jack jerked their heads towards The Doctor who remained unmoving. 

“Why him?” Rose asked, half knowing the answer. 

“They’ve never had a player like him before. He’s the full package for them.” 

“Him?” Jack jutted a disbelieving thumb over his shoulder. “The one with the ears?” The Doctor let a wide, condescending smile grace his face.

“It’s about time someone recognized quality when it was staring them in the face.” He crossed his arms and shifted his weight casually onto one leg. Rose and Jack rolled their eyes in unison. 

“Oi, can you not give him complements please?” Rose crossed her arms impatiently. “If his ego get’s any bigger it’ll suffocate us all.” The Doctor just tutted and shook his head with a smile. 

“Well, the romance was a huge part of it too.” Brian said with a shrug. “Why do you think they let you run together for so long?” Rose blushed enough to match her name. She looked shamefully at a speck of dirt somewhere on the ground. 

“Right, so,” Jack cut through the awkward silence like a knife and brought the teams focus back on Brian and the escape. “You’re saying you’re not going to pull us out?”

“He doesn’t want to.” The Doctor cut in with a serious tone. His eyes were locked onto Brian’s. “He knows we can beat this. We’re the only ones that can.” He didn’t wait for the little man to answer. “Yeah, we will get into that castle and we will have a face off. I hope whoever is in charge is shaking in their boots now, because once we get in there this whole world will come crashing down. 

“Alright… well…” Rose let her arms drop as she contemplated their next steps. “Will you be able to get us into the castle?” 

“I’ll take you as far as I can.” Brian nodded. “The second they realize what I am, they’ll search for the signal I’m using the enter this body and shut it down. The are probably already doing that right now.” The Doctor nodded. 

“Then we don’t have a second to lose.”

The newly built team of four pushed the large metal doors open just enough to squeeze through. The city was still quiet, which was odd considering the commotion that had just taken place. Without question, they easily made their way to the steps of the castle. Before them, the castle stood menacing in the sunlight. It was a simple design, unearthly in its architecture. 

“Piece of cake!” Jack grinned. 

No one responded. They had all been distracted by a sudden ominous sound of several small feet hitting the pavement. The sound rang through the air around them, louder and louder. Rose turned to Jack and swatted his arm roughly. 

“Never say that here!” She scolded. As she turned around the sound had become a deafening roar. The source had just come into view, a hundred little men in suits of armour were marching toward them from one of the main streets. Behind them, another hundred or so man came out of the castle and formed at the top of the stairs boldly. Some of the men were riding upon some sort of dinosaur looking creature and held spears, others on foot clutching swords and shields. 

Rose cast her eyes back at The Doctor who neither looked scared or entertained. He was thinking. She knew his problem solving face anywhere. He would have something really clever up his sleeve and they’d all be out of there in moments. 

“Run!” He shouted suddenly. He bolted to the right leaving the other three stunned. 

“That’s the plan?” Rose asked angrily. She charged after him with the other two in tow. 

The soldiers made their battle cries and began charging mightily down the stairs and up the street. Their spears and swords raised as their little feet pounded after their lanky in comparison enemy. The Doctor and company ran quickly, he made several sharp turns which they surely begrudged, and then decided to enter a tiny house. 

“What, in there?” Rose asked as the other two followed The Doctor inside. Rose looked back at the hoard that was now gaining on them. She let out a small squeak before climbing into the tiny house. 

Inside was shockingly just as small as the outside. Jack pushed a chair under the door handle and proceeded to sit by the window to block intruders, Brian did the same at another window. The soldiers were on them within seconds. They smashed the windows, pounded at the door, banged on the walls. Their hands thrusted into the broken window pains and reached around for someone to grab. Jack and Brian were busy swatting hands away like a game of wack-a-mole. Rose was busy doing the same at the back window. One of the men stuck his face into the broken window, Rose grabbed a nearby pie and thrust it into his face.

“Hungry? Eat this!” She yelled defiantly. 

The Doctor was no longer anywhere to be seen in the house. He had somehow discovered a strange silo like top part of the house that he had climbed into. Working his way up the little ladder that was fixed to the wall, he pushed the thatch roof top out of his way and looked out over the city. From his vantage point he could see that all the houses were in neat little lines, all within jumping distance from each other. 

“Fantastic.” He grinned. 

“Doctor?!” Rose cried from below. “Where are you?!” The Doctor jumped down from the silo and back into the main room. 

“Alright, here’s the plan.” He announced. He thrust his finger into the air to point out the silo. “This is our escape route, every body up.” 

Rose didn’t need to be told twice. She jolted forward and jumped onto the ladder, Brian followed, then Jack. The Doctor took a quick look around at the windows. The men were still thrashing their arms about wildly. He tutted. 

“I feel like you’re not really giving it your best effort.” He sighed before one of the men decided to thrust his head through the window and broke the frame. “Then again-!” The Doctor jumped back slightly and quickly made for the silo. 

Up on the roof next door, the trio watched as the soldiers busily climbed into the tiny house. They didn’t seem to notice them high above, nor did they notice no one was in the house. The Doctor poked his head out from the silo and smiled at them. They waited patiently as he climbed out, and jumped onto the roof with them. 

“Well, go on then,” He ushered. 

“We’re just going to casually stroll along thatched roof cottages?” Jack asked as he tested the integrity of the roof. 

“Yeah, that’s right.” The Doctor smiled. “Any better plans?” The crowed below began to change their tune. They’d probably started to realize no one was in the house but them. 

“Thick, aren't they?” Rose muttered as she gazed down at them. “Well, I’m not about to wait for them to figure us out. Come along.” She jumped across to the next house. With cat-like ease she leaped from roof top to roof top in the direction of the castle. Jack shrugged his shoulders and followed. Brian stared up at The Doctor curiously. 

“You’re an odd character, Doctor.” He said suddenly before moving to jump to the next roof.

“I thought you said I was the full package?” The Doctor frowned and leaped over gracefully. Brian didn’t respond, he was too focused on making it across the gap. His legs were short, his gate wouldn’t be long enough. The Doctor sighed and leapt back over to the first house. “Come on then.” He crouched down and threw out a thumb towards his back. Brian nodded his thanks and climbed onto The Doctor, piggy-back style. 

Rose and Jack had paused just at the edge of their last thatch roof. They were very close to the stairs that lead into the castle and none of the soldiers were around, that is to say, none of the foot soldiers. Down below there was a funny little almost Dalek-like creature. It was primitive in design, made of wood and metal. Two little legs poked out from beneath what was assumedly armour, and the barrel of a small cannon was affixed to its rotating head piece. The stalk-like barrel swung around as it moved, searching for its potential target. 

“Now what?” Jack grumbled as The Doctor approached his side. Jack and Rose gave a sideways glance at the him, Brian was still perched on his back. 

“That’s fantastic!” The Doctor laughed giddily at the little roaming canon. “The poor man’s Dalek. I only wish I could get a picture of that…” His smile dropped suddenly. “…Only no one to show it to…” He muttered the last part quietly, then caught Rose’s eye as she stared into him. He cleared his throat. “Come along, Jack. You take the left, I take the right, and you-“ He approached Rose. “Take Brian and head inside.” He turned his back to Rose. She let out a groan and helped Brian get off his leather clad steed. 

“Be careful.” She said with a little irritation. The Doctor offered her a big grin and a wink, then he was gone. Down the side of the cottage. Rose looked over her shoulder to see that the army had finally gotten wise of their plan and had began a scattered search. They moved slowly with swords bared. Rose Looked at Brian, “I hope you’re ready to run.” Brian nodded. 

On the ground, Jack and The Doctor were putting their plan into action. They flipped a coin to decide who would be the distraction, and who would be the one to take out the would be Dalek. Jack got tails. He groaned and rolled his eyes as The Doctor beamed. 

“See you in hell.” Jack mouthed as they parted. He waited for The Doctor to get into a solid position, then bolted out into the site of the canon and waved his arms. The head swung around and began firing instantly. Almost like a machine gun rather than a canon. Jack picked up his pace and dived behind the nearby water fountain.

Rose and Brian were now on the ground, hiding just out of site. She could her the soldiers getting closer and bit her lip anxiously. If they heard the gunshots they’d surely come charging, only they were too stupid to look quietly. Rose watched as The Doctor crept up carefully behind the gunner. The little creature shot desperately at the fountain. The Doctor paused and scratched his head, then he brought a leg up and gave a gentle shove into the body of the gunner. It tipped over onto its side and began shoot wildly into the ground and sky as it rolled around. 

“Bit of a flawed design really.” The Doctor laughed. Rose and Brian bolted out of their hiding spot and headed for the stairs. Jack ran out as well. The soldiers finally heard the shots and began shouting. A massive roar echoed through the city, and the sound of hundreds of feet charging pounded into the small team’s ears. 

The gunner shot straight up into the air. The Doctor looked up and began to run after Rose, Jack and Brian. Rose covered her head in vain as they ran up the steps. The doors were massive, even more massive than the ones that held the large metal guard. The soldiers burst out into the court yard and made for the steps. The whole team yanked the door open with much effort and little to show for it. One at a time they squeezed themselves through the door.

Once inside, they all leaned back and the door slowly shut. The sound of soldiers smacking their weapons against the doors began to fade away. The room they were in was large, but dingy. Rose took a step forward and let her eyes travel over the scene. 

“What a mess.” She threw her hands to her hips. There were rags, feathers, and steins that once held some sort of booze abandoned all over the place. “Does no one pick up after themselves anymore?”

“You should talk, I’ve seen your room.” The Doctor said as he pushed past her. Rose frowned and crossed her arms, but The Doctor didn’t notice. He walked into the centre of the room and spun around. 

“So what happens next?” Jack asked, also looking around. “We made it, we won with time to spare. Why are we still here?” The Doctor remained silent, putting things together in his powerful brain. Rose crinkled her nose, Brian had also been a bit silent. He was the one with the answers! She turned to him, but he just stared silently. Unblinking. 

“Brian?” She approached him and waved an arm in front of his face. No one was home. 

“They cut the signal.” The Doctor stated. Jack frowned and lowered his head. “Nothing more he could do here anyway, should be safe at home behind his computer screen.” The Doctor reminded them in a cold effort to comfort everyone. Rose touched the little man’s shoulder, and it suddenly snapped into life. 

“Should you need us.” It said abruptly in a much more cartoonish voice than before. Rose pulled her hand back sharply. Its eyes were sad and almost pleading. 

“The original programming is back.” The Doctor didn’t look back at them, he was tugging on a drape that hung from the wall. A chicken flew out and landed by his feet. He laughed and gave a look to Rose who seemed unimpressed. 

“What are we supposed to do now, Doctor?” Rose asked. He frowned, then he looked up. 

“Alright, you heard her. What now? We beat your game, let us go.” He boomed loudly into the stone ceiling. His voice bounced everywhere. 

“Oh, Doctor!” The all too familiar voice of the pig man echoed through the room in an almost seductive manner. “You’re so impetuous!” He suddenly appeared, just over the sunken floor in the centre of the room. It was filled with filthy pillows and rags. Rose reeled at the sight of the pig man. It was her first time seeing him, and he was horrible. His stubby human body wearing an unflattering outfit, topped by a hideous pig face, was more than she ever wanted to see. 

“Let us go.” The Doctor said commandingly. His eyes darkened with the seriousness of his tone. Rose was both attracted to, and terrified of that specific look. She and Jack froze in their spots at opposite ends of the room, watching carefully for any tricky business. 

“Oh!” The pig man laughed obnoxiously and twirled around. “But you haven’t won yet!!” 

“What do you mean? We solved the labyrinth!” Rose chimed in. The pig man twirled to face her. 

“Rude.” He stated. “Can’t you see we are conversing?” He gestured his hand back and forth between himself and The Doctor. Rose crossed her arms and looked away in irritation. She let out an angry huff. 

“You didn’t think it would be that easy, did you Doctor?” The pig man smiled. He rolled onto his belly and floated comfortably over to the simmering Time Lord. Their faces were inches apart. “You know it has to get worse before it get’s better.” He whispered with a sick smile. The Doctor gritted his teeth. 

“What’s the final challenge?” The Doctor spat. The pig man pulled back and flipped into the air. He released a fistful of glitter from each hand and showered them all in it. 

“you’ll see!” He squealed. 

Then everything went dark.


	7. 13 O-Clock

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter. The showdown. Return of the Not-Bowie.

The Doctor opened his eyes. He blinked a few times before raising a hand to his forehead. That was the second time since entering the labyrinth that someone had managed to take control of his consciousness. No small feat. He slowly lifted himself onto his elbows as the pieces came together in his brain. Whatever made the labyrinth possible was extremely powerful, maybe even familiar… 

His thoughts were interrupted as he realized where he was. Somehow, he had found himself inside an optical illusion. Inside the famous Escher drawing, the room of stairs. He would have been wildly impressed with such a display if he hadn’t been so concerned with how much power would have been needed to make something like that. He looked around for signs of Rose or Jack. Stairs going up, down, sideways and so on, but no Rose. The Doctor squinted and could just barely make out the body of Jack, lying flat against the wall. Well, to The Doctor’s perspective, a wall. 

Just as he was about to call out to the ex time agent, a strange song began to play. One that made his brow furrow in confusion. He looked around swiftly, but saw no source for the sound. He climbed to his feet and ignored the urge to figure out if he was upside down or not. 

“Neat trick.” He muttered as he passed through a doorway and found himself standing at a completely different angle. He looked around to see if his settings had changed. Jack was still in his site, but somehow located on the opposite side of the room from where The Doctor had expected, and also hanging from the ceiling rather than sticking to the wall. “Always sleeping.” The Doctor shook his head and continued walking forwards, up a set of stairs. 

“You like it, Doctor?” The pig man’s voice cooed into his ear. The Doctor attempted to ignore it and continue through another doorway. “I thought it might impress you.” The voice continued. The Doctor persisted to ignore. The song that had been playing continued ominously, like a soundtrack to his frustration. “You want to find her, don’t you?” The Doctor paused. “You get to her, you win the game.” The pig man suddenly appeared in front of him. Too close for comfort. 

“I have your word on that?” The Doctor asked. The pig man grinned a hideous grin as his body began to turn slowly so that it seemed like he was floating on his head. A voice suddenly broke out into the room, echoing off of every piece of stone. 

“How you turn my world, you precious thing.” The Doctor spun around, his eyes landing on the distant image of the Bowie hologram. It was clad in leather and velvet. He was singing… singing to Rose! 

“Rose!” The Doctor called out, but she didn’t turn to look at him. Just stared at the not-Bowie. 

“She can’t hear you, Doctor.” The pig man snickered. “Seems no one can resist that Goblin King charm.” The Doctor scowled as Rose took a hypnotized step towards the hologram. 

“You starve and near exhaust me.” The Bowie sang. 

“Oh, heart break.” The pig man wiped a fake tear from his eye. “Seems your lover has fallen for another, how will you ever win her heart back.” 

“Everything I’ve done, I’ve done for you.” The Bowie continued he stepped closer and closer until he stepped right through Rose. She gasped at the strangeness of it. The Doctor clenched his fist and silently processed his situation.

“If you can’t win her back, you all lose.” The pig man floated awkwardly next to The Doctor’s ear. 

“That’s it? That’s the challenge?” He turned his head to finally make eye contact. “It’s all about the ratings.” The Doctor shook his head. Then he turned and ran towards the next opening. 

“I move the stars for no one.” The Bowie sang as he pointed a finger at Rose. Rose jumped as he appeared to have tossed himself over the side of the surface she was standing on, it turned out he was just standing on the other side. Beneath her. Her breathe caught, she attempted to follow him as he ran along the floor opposite her. 

The Doctor cursed as he found himself even further from the scene that was playing out. He ran up another set up stairs, then another, and another. Each time resulting in a different location. Never getting closer to Rose. 

“Rose!” He called out desperately as he stood across a great gap from her. She didn’t flinch. The Bowie emerged from beneath the floor and caught her off guard. She jumped back, but not enough. They were face to face. The Doctor could feel that old annoyingly familiar feeling in his gut. The same feeling he got around most men Rose took a shine to. He hated that feeling. Too primitive. 

“Your eyes can be so cruel.” The Goblin King crooned. The Doctor looked up and around. He then turned and entered another doorway. He was closer this time. 

“Rose- it’s me!” He pleaded. “The Doctor.” Rose blinked. 

“Doctor?” She whispered, her eyes attempted to flutter away from the Bowie’s deep gaze. 

“Just as I can be so cruel.” It sang and recaptured her attention. The Bowie raised a gloved hand to her cheek and caressed it lightly, Rose closed her eyes. The Doctor tore his eyes away and darted up another set of stairs and through another doorway. On the other side he found himself closer still, but not enough to get to them. 

“You and your boyfriends.” He grumbled as he continued to move through this new maze. “Don’t fall for it, Rose.” The Doctor called out. “You’re not like the other apes, you know better.” Rose blinked twice, then fully turned her head to look out at The Doctor. “Yes! That’s right, Rose! Look here! It’s me, The Doctor.” The gloved hand of the Bowie dropped from her cheek slowly. 

“Oh, I do believe in you.” Rose looked back at the Bowie and reached out to him. “Yes, I do.” The holograms eyes began to glow, a soft almost teal light that soothed and relaxed. Rose closed her eyes as she entered the embrace of the somehow texturally sound hologram. The Doctor groaned and charged through another door, then down a set of steps. He was very near to where Jack was still sleeping, but his focus was still on Rose. The glow from the hologram’s eyes began to spread all over its body. 

“No!” The Doctor cried. “Let her go!” He ran swiftly up another staircase, out through another door, and again, he was no closer. He let out a cry of frustration. “Come ON, Rose!” He coached. “You’ll really fall for any pretty face, won’t you?” The hologram was all light at that point, it was starting to spread that light onto Rose. 

“Live without the sunlight…” The song continued. 

“Rose, listen to me.” The Doctor ran along a flat surface and up a staircase. He stood just across from Rose who was slowly being swallowed by the light. “You’ve got to come back to me…” She didn’t hear him. “You’re mother is bound to give me more than a slap if I don’t bring you home.” He tried with an anxious laugh. 

“Love without your heart beat…” 

“Rose, I-“ he ran a hand down his face. “I need you to listen to me.” His eyes were glassy as Rose’s body was almost entirely engulfed. “I… need…” he squinted his eyes in a strain to gather his composure. “You.” He breathed out. “I need you!” The light beamed from her own eyes, but she blinked them. The Doctor took it as hope. He fell to his knees. “I’m just a daft old alien, I’d be lost without you.” He confessed. The light began to recede. “You, with your silly little stories, your silly little smile…” He looked at the ground and laughed. “You reached into the darkness and took my hand…” His eyes were glassy, he didn’t dare look up. Things were getting far too open. Far too emotional. “…You’re the spark of humanity that can save this old monster…”

“I-I… can’t… live… within you….” The Bowie struggled to sing as it flickered and glitched. The Doctor looked up, Rose had gotten completely free. She stood several feet away from the pulsing hologram that was crumbling to he ground, her eyes were locked onto The Doctors. She had a cocky smile on her face, her hands on her hips. 

“Don’t think for a second I’m going to let you forget that.” Rose grinned and poked her tongue through her teeth. The Doctor returned her grin, a single tear rolled down his cheek. The stared at each other for a moment, not saying anything audibly, but speaking volumes with their eyes. Then The Doctor lifted himself from his knees.

“Right.” He said dusting himself off casually and clearing his throat. “If we can get to each other, we win.”

“Where’s Jack?” 

“think I passed him along the way- I can back track.” He turned back to go the way he had come. Rose nodded and began running through doorways and up stairs on her side. They popped in and out of different places on opposite sides of the room every time. They could see Jack clearly, but they didn’t seem to be getting any closer to him, or each other. 

“I don’t think it matters what we do… the mazes outside were always changing, why wouldn’t this room be the same?” Rose pointed out as she breathlessly leaned against the wall. Too many stairs. 

“Good point.” The Doctor acknowledged. He looked up at Jack who had been hanging directly above him a few feet away. “OI, JACK!” He hollered. The man didn’t stir. The Doctor shook his head and Rose shrugged. “Okay.” The Doctor folded his arms and closed his eyes in thought. “The room is playing with us. Just like the maze was playing with us… why?” Rose pursed her lips and pretended to think while The Doctor put it together. “What have they achieved other than a good show? It has to be more than that…” He furrowed his brow, his eyes still closed. “Of course!” His eyes popped open. “Rose, at the count of three I want you to just run and jump out into the open space.”

“What?!” 

“One-“

“You’re mad!” 

“Two-“

“Oh god!” 

“Three!”

The two jumped out into the middle of the room. Rose reached out for The Doctor, he leaned forward and their fingers met gently. As they fell the room began to fall to pieces- just as it had when they burst the bubble. Stones floated away like feathers into the breeze. They fell softly, almost in slow motion. Their feet touching the ground at the same time. Behind them, Jack’s sleeping body touched the ground softly. The floor was made of stone, but everywhere around them looked like open space. Literal space. Stars glittered all around them. Clusters forming beautiful colours. Rose looked around in amazement, but as her eyes found Jack she ran to him and crouched by his side and attempted to rouse him. The Doctor kept his eyes forward, a fierce look on his face. 

The pig man appeared before him. His face was no longer smiley with a condescending air. He seemed to be in distress, maybe even discomfort. Rose squeezed The Doctor’s hand. 

“Let us go.” The Doctor commanded. 

“Can’t do that.” The pig man stated. His voice for the first time sounding serious. 

“Maybe you can’t…” The Doctor gave a little smile. “You’re nothing.” The pig man looked taken back. The Doctor stepped forward and grabbed at the pig man. His hands flew right through its body and the little creature disappeared with a painful squeal. 

“Well done, Doctor.” Another voice called out to them. A form stepped into visibility and formed the shape of a man adorned with feathers.

“It’s Bowie!” Rose gasped. “He really is still alive!” The Doctor rolled his eyes. 

“Bowie died in 2016.” He stated. Rose gasped. 

“That’s only eleven years away!” She cried. “My Mum will be devastated…” She muttered. The Doctor ignored her and kept his focus on the form in front of him. 

“Pretty clever.” He said at last. “The whole concept of the television show, the nostalgia wave… that’s nothing. The real goal was the players.” The figure smiled. 

“So delicious.” It stated.

“What does he mean, delicious, Doctor?” Rose asked timidly. “Are you eating the players?” She asked in a more commanding tone. The figure just laughed softly. 

“In a manner of speaking.” It responded. 

“It feeds off of the emotions. Negative ones.” The Doctor explained. “The labyrinth induces feelings of fear, panic, anxiety, sadness, all to the extreme. Sort of like a fine food buffet.”

“And you’re the filet mignon, Doctor.” The Doctor glared darkly at the man before him. Rose squeezed his hand protectively to offer her support. “Oh the things you’ve seen, the things you’ve done… the horrors… the emotions!” The figure groaned in satisfaction. Rose crinkled her nose in disgust. “This colony was small and pathetic, but it’s critical levels of anxiety and depression were enough to keep me satisfied… but when you came Doctor…”

“You got clumsy.” The Doctor cut in.

“I beg your pardon?”

“You were so greedy for the good stuff that you got clumsy.” The Doctor smiled. “What happened to you? Once a God- now reduced to creating worlds simply for harvesting meals? It’s pathetic.” The figure stiffened and attempted to hide the anger that was building in its face. 

“We have all had to make do!” It shouted. Its stolen face flashed with rage and irritation before it quickly hid the emotions away again. Its face softened. “You know all about that, Doctor.” There was a tenseness in the air. Rose looked between the two powerful figures as she tried to understand the situation. “The war devastated so many…” The figure flicked its eyes up to the stars around them. “…worlds crushed in a second, civilizations lost in the blink of an eye…” His eyes flicked down to meet The Doctors. “Even the Gods could not be spared.”

“I’m sorry.” Was all The Doctor could say. His face remained firm. The figure showed a twinge of emotion but hid it carefully. 

“I know you are.” It said flatly. There was a thick silence. The figure’s eyes darted to Rose for the first time since its appearance, then back to meet The Doctor’s. “Your sick obsession with Earth has always been your downfall. I sensed your TARDIS and brought you here, I knew you couldn’t resist a cry from help from your primitive pets. Only… I hadn’t expected all this…” He gestured his hand to Rose but his eyes remained locked onto The Doctor’s. “You’re like a ripe orange, brimming with juices that your hide is trying to keep contained… and you single handedly offered me the juicer.”

The figure vanished and reappeared next to Rose before anyone could react and grabbed her roughly. He pulled her into his chest facing out so The Doctor could see her face, his hand was gripped tightly on her throat. Rose wheezed as the fingers tightened. 

“Rose!” The Doctor Lunged forward but the hand gripped tighter causing Rose to cry out. 

“Pity.” The Figure seemed to remain neutral. “Once a God, now reduced to a snivelling child clinging to the skirts of his Earthling female.” He tutted softly as he mocked The Doctor. “It’s pathetic.” The Doctor could feel the heat of his rage boiling up inside him. The figure smiled. “Delicious.” 

“Let her go.” The Doctor demanded coldly. 

“Or what?” The figure asked. “There is nothing you can do to me. I’m not flesh and blood as you are, Doctor.” Its grip tightened causing Rose to cry out again. The Doctor cringed. “Well go on then, destroyer of worlds, bring this one down with all the others!” The figure began to speak louder and louder. “Let it burn like all the others you’ve left in your wake! What’s another?!” 

“You don’t have to do this.” The Doctor tried to reason. “You can start a new world somewhere else, create life! Your power is wasted on this game.” 

“This is all I have now, Doctor.” It retorted, a hint of desperation on its breath. “I don’t have the strength I once did, I can no longer create life! I can only imitate it.” The figure’s grip on Rose loosened a little, but she didn’t try to break free. “When I came here, I was dying. Severely wounded… fallout from the great war… I very nearly slipped away into dust when the human colony arrived. Their emotions gave me enough strength to survive but I cannot leave them.” It sighed. “I guess we have this in common as well, Doctor. Dependancy on humans.” It began to laugh and then it clenched hard at Rose’s throat again. “You see, Doctor. I can’t let you go. I need their emotions, and I need yours too.” 

“You can have them, just please, let the girl go.” The Doctor raised his hands up in surrender. 

“No.” The figure took a step back, Rose tight in his grasp. “Your pain and grief could be enough, but the pain you feel in your heart for this girl? That’s icing on the cake.” The Doctor looked a little desperate and a little furious. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do. His fingers twitched anxiously as he tried to come up with a clever way to get them out. 

“Why does everyone forget ME?!” A voice erupted through the dense air. Jack threw his body hard into the figure, causing it to drop Rose and disappear. Rose gasped and clutched at her throat. Bruises upon bruises, that was a nice treat she thought with a grimace. Jack helped Rose from the ground and supported her body weight. “How do we get out?” Jack asked. 

“We don’t.” The Doctor said flatly. “You didn’t get rid of him, this whole world is him. The walls, the floors, the dungeons, the beasts, the sky… its all one digital-organic hybrid entity.”

“You can’t just be giving up!” Rose said with a hint of question to her tone. “You always come up with something.” The Doctor turned and looked around rapidly as if he were trying to think of something. He hated feeling helpless. Rose and Jack looked at each other with expressions reading doubt. They had always believed in The Doctor, and would never vocalize doubt, but part of them knew he was capable of human error. He had, after all, broke the toaster in the simple act of making toast. 

“It’s got to have some kind of weak point.” Jack said at last, breaking the silence. Rose thought about that for a moment until an idea formed. 

“He said he was feeding off the emotions…” She started, still working it out. “He was barely surviving, but he was surviving…. Negative emotions… Doctor, do you think-“ The Doctor spun around quickly, he beamed from ear to ear. 

“Rose, you’re a genius!” She gave a tiny but proud smile at the complement. “Negative emotions are what powers it. Emotions like greed, hate, fear, anxiety, grief, lust…” He took several commanding steps towards the duo, more specifically towards Rose. Her cheeks flushed slightly and surprised her. 

“This whole colony is full of depressed people watching tragic programming.” The Doctor continued, he was standing directly in front of Rose. Jack crossed his arms as he tried to follow along patiently. Again he had to wonder why he was constantly being ignored. “The second we showed some positive emotions what happened?” Rose tried to think back to when she had felt something happier. This whole time had been stressful and scary, how could she have had a good time? 

Then she suddenly remembered laughing with Jack, a moment of joy before they had discovered the horrible beast that chased them through the hedge maze. Then Jack was taken from her. After that the only moment of good feelings she could remember was when The Doctor had given her a particularly good snog on the stone wall. Her stomach warmed at the memory. She recalled how that too ended in their sudden fall towards the bog that smelled so wretched. 

“It punished us every time we had a good feeling!” Rose pointed out. 

“That’s right.” The Doctor grinned. “Good feelings make the entity sick, like eating something rotten. It causes pain. Maybe enough pain to weaken the world around us and allow us an escape.”

“Okay so, just think happy thoughts?” Jack asked as he tried to dig back to something that brought him great joy. 

“Yeah, could do.” The Doctor shrugged. “I was thinking of something a little more powerful.” He brought his hand up gently and touched it to Rose’s cheek. She shuddered at his touch and the anticipation of what she could only assume was coming.

“He was right.” The Doctor whispered, his face only inches from hers. Rose could feel the warmth of his breath, her hands began to clam up and her heart sped.

“About what?” She asked, her voice trembling a little. 

“I have grown a little dependant on you.” Rose smiled and let out a little laugh. The Doctor had a serious face on, but she didn’t doubt that he was pulsing with positive vibes. “-but you already know that…” He pulled her into him till their bodies touched. 

Jack suddenly took a few steps back and turned away, grinning wildly. He knew that The Doctor had been harbouring a lot of painful crap, and that Rose was the key to healing him. It was all too satisfying to see everything unfold in such a way. He shoved his hands into his pockets and whistled as he tried to recall his happiest moment. A sexual escapade perhaps… his mind happily cycled through several possible memories. 

“Do I?” Rose whispered her response. Her one hand was on his forearm and the other moved to rest on his chest. She fiddled with his jumper, unable to stop herself from grinning. He stared down at her with the adoring eyes she had become so familiar with. 

“I would do anything you asked.” He pressed his lips softly to her forehead. Rose looked up at him through her eyelashes. Her tongue poked cheekily out from between her teeth as she grinned up at him. 

“Then I guess you better kiss me.” She said. He smiled and appreciated her for a moment before dipping his head down to gently capture her lips. Rose melted into him. She pushed her body into his and snaked her hand up to hold his neck firmly. She tossed her other arm over his shoulder to give him the freedom to wrap his arms around her tightly. 

The kiss had sent waves of pleasure through Rose, but not in a lust sort of way. Instead of feeling it in her guts the passion was felt in her chest. Her heart exploded at the very idea of being that special to someone so important. He needed her. He needed her more than words could ever express, but she’d always known. She knew from the very start. He had been so lonely, so sad, and she had felt an immediate need to help him. 

For The Doctors part, he was letting go of every painful feeling. He allowed himself for that one special moment to experience the joy he had longed for such a long time. At one time he had assumed that he would never find happiness again, he was ready to end it all to avoid feeling anything anymore. Then the thought of Rose held him back. A girl he had only just met. She sparked something inside of him… hope. He went back for her. He’d never asked twice before, but he did for her. He continued to do wild things for her that often went against his gut feelings. He needed to impress her, needed to have her full attention, needed her always be by his side, needed to love her. 

In that moment, for the first time in a very long time, The Doctor felt completely at peace. Everything in the universe could have been exploding around him, and he just couldn’t be bothered. Rose was all he needed. She brought him all the happiness in the universe. 

From afar, Jack witnessed as the world around him began to crack like glass. The starry night sky was beginning to form dark clouds. Jack turned, still grinning, to face the couple still locked in each other’s embrace. It was working, but it didn’t seem to be enough.

“Noo!” A loud booming voice shook the ground and air around them. It rang through Jack’s head as if it were coming from inside. The cracks began to increase and pieces began falling all around. “I must survive!” The voice cried out angrily. Walls began bursting up from the ground. A new maze was forming. Rose and The Doctor disappeared from Jack’s sight. He kept his mind calm, he tried to think of something positive that would help weaken the entity. He snapped his fingers. 

“Don’t put your junk in my back yard, my back yard, my back yard…” Jack sang loudly with a smile. The walls shook around him. “Don’t put your junk in my back yard, my back yard’s full!” Rose, who had been wrenched from The Doctor’s embrace by another wall, smiled as she heard Jack’s merry tune.

“Fish n’ chips n’ vinegar! Vinegar! Vinegar! Fish n’ chips n’ vinegar! Pepper, pepper, pepper, salt!” She sang out happily and gave a little laugh. The walls quaked and cracked. New ones attempted to thrust upwards but crumbled before reaching knee level. It wasn’t long before The Doctor’s voice joined in.

“One bottle of pop, two bottles of pop, three bottles of pop…” He sang from somewhere unseen.

The sky beyond the false sky was beginning to shine through. The Marsian desert was beginning to show itself. Jack took a few hopeful steps forward, then he saw- far off in the distance on a red sandy hill… 

“THE TARDIS!” Jack yelped happily. “Doctor! Rose!” The two began to appear behind the dust clouds of crumbling stone. Squinting, Rose too could see the TARDIS. She laughed loudly. The Doctor grinned his usual best. They all charged towards it. The stone began to fall away beneath their feet and sinking into the very real sand of the desert. It made running difficult, but they refused to let it dampen their spirits.

The Doctor reached into his pocket and pulled out his sonic screwdriver. It glowed in response to his touch. His grin, if possible, widened. All was right in the world. 

As they approached the faithful blue box they all turned to take one last look at the nineteen eighties fantasy. The labyrinth, once mighty, crumbled into dust. Walls, hedges, trees… everything disappearing into the deep red sand. As the final pieces fell away into the earth a mushroom cloud of dust formed. 

“I’m sorry.” The Doctor muttered as the dust began to blow away. Another victim of the Time War, gone. Rose took his hand tight in her own. He looked down at her, then he smiled.

“You know,” She said. “The three of us make a pretty great team.” She extended her arm out and welcome Jack into a half embrace. 

“Not a bad three-part harmony either.” Jack grinned.

“Yeah, you’re all right.” The Doctor smirked. “Think I’ll keep you two around.” Nothing but smiles and laughs were shared. The trio turned and stepped inside the TARDIS, Jack took a last look over the empty desert and smiled. 

“Is there life on Mars?” He sang as he closed the door tight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah so I was thinking about re-writing the ending and making it much longer with a big twist and the rebellion taking over BUT this whole thing was just stupid and fun and so it felt fitting that the ending remained stupid and fun too. Maybe some day I will come back and re-write the ending but not today. Thanks for reading!


End file.
